San Lorenzo in Lucina - Friday, Third Week of Lent
- Rick Bessey
- Mar 13
- 2 min read
The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina is a wonderful treat. This basilica is conveniently located in the northern part of the City, between the Tiber and the sites you will see in the central part of the City, such as Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. If you visit the Trevi Fountain (and who doesn't) and go west to the modern shopping center, turn right on the large Via del Corso. Turn left after a few blocks into the pedestrian only - conveniently named - Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina. The fairly plain facade with its short porch and bell tower sits ahead in the middle of the piazza on the left, past Louis Vuitton and the luxury eye wear stores, seamlessly occupying the same civic space, the old and the modern.
Let us recall the story of San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence in English). A deacon of the church, San Lorenzo was martyred in the year 258 by being grilled to death. We have seen the church built over the location of his execution: San Lorenzo in Panisperna. He is famously said to have said words to the effect of, "I'm done on that side. Can you turn me over?" The grill upon which San Lorenzo was burned is still housed in this church, located under the altar.
Lucina is the woman whose house the church sits upon. Moreover, she is the one who obtained and saved the grill and brought it from the site of his martyrdom to its current location. I am never one to let truth get in the way of a good legend, but it must be said that Lucina is likely a generic name, for it appears several times in the early Christian martyrdom stories. It was originally appended to the Roman goddess Juno and refers to "light". Regardless of the name, archaeological evidence shows that the church was, in fact, built over a Roman apartment complex. For that reason, this church is said to be a titular church, that is, one associated with a home. This site, originally an apartment complex of ancient Rome, then the earliest of churches, now sits as a baroque monument in contemporary Rome.
This church is one of the oldest churches in the city. The pope of 366, Damasus, was elected here. And the church is documented in the earliest documents. The present church, however, contains little of the original church. It was rebuilt in the 1100s, and redocorated, as it were, in the 1600s to bring it into the modern baroque style. Inside, architectural piers support rounded arches, on top of which a second story - a clerestory - exists letting in much light. All of this is topped with a flat, golden coffered ceiling.
Enjoy your time in this church dedicated to one of Rome's most important martyrs.
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