The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence is the best representation of the hallmarks of Renaissance architecture, and, as such, makes it the most beautiful church in all of Italy. When you enter the church you immediately understand what Renaissance architecture is. The church was designed by the architect Brunelleschi, who traveled to Rome to study the ancient structures. He then brought that style back to Florence.

The pilgrimage church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura is dedicated to the third of Rome's great martyrs, after Peter and Paul, and, as the name suggests, fuoir le mura, it sits outside of the former city walls. St. Lawrence (Lorenzo, in Italian), was a deacon of the church who was killed on August 10, 258 in the Roman persecutions under the Emperor Valerian.