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 3_San Lorenzo Church
_ _ _ Second Itinerary
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From the day Saint Ambrogio consecrated the church we now call San Lorenzo
it received the title Ambrosian Basilica and the Roman popes defined it
caput Ecclesiae florentinae, meaning the head of the Florentine church
until the Florentine religious center moved to the piazza formed by the
churches of San Giovanni Battista and Santa Reparata (the city's two
patron saints) this last church was replaced by Santa Maria del Fiore.
Restructured in the Romanesque style in 1000 and reconsecrated in 2060
by Pope Nicholas II, San Lorenzo came under Medici protection at the
beginning of the fifteenth century thanks to the patrician Giovanni di
Bicci (1360-1429) who, beginning in 1418 sponsored the reconstruction
and enlargement of the church entrusting the direction of the
construction to the genius Fillipo Brunelleschi (it was finished by
Antonio Manetti). This church was dearly loved by Cosimo the Elder who
was buried there in 1464 and the entire city gathered around his coffin
to mourn this "pater patriae". From then on San Lorenzo became the
'official' Medici
church for more than three centuries and it is here that they chose to
be buried. Partially for this reason they enriched it with superlative
masterpieces and precious decorations. This use also necessitated the
ulterior creation inside the complex of the extraordinary area known as
the Medici Chapel which was completed by the Prince's Chapel, the
grandiose baroque mausoleum covered in pietra dure where the Grand
Ducal branch of the family rests (see Itinerary 3).
Many privileges acknowledged at the origin of the basilica have
survived until today as can be seen in the titles of its priests: the
church, in fact, has a raised chapter equal to that of a cathedral and
has the title of a Collegiate church. Its rector has the dignity of a
Mitered abbot second only to the Archbishop in the church hierarchy. It
is probable that shortly after the year one thousand this church had
beeen the city's cathedral for some time. If San Lorenzo is important
in the history of the Florentine church, its importance is even greater
for universal cultural history: in a relatively small space and with a
concentration unique in all over the world, here Renaissance
civilization is represented at its highest level. Even without
considering the Laurentian Library and the Medici Chapel complex with
its famous architecture and Michelangelo's sculptures (this area is
completely autonomous today), a visit to the church is essential for
anyone who wants to understand the art and history of Florence's golden
age.
The Interior
Inside Brunelleschi's
masterpiece (the external facade was never realized) is one of the most
wonderful architectural works of all times: spacious and harmonious,
with a central nave and two side aisles. The nave, covered with a
sunken panel ceiling, is distinguished for its exceptional light and
its calm classical interior.
Near the end of the nave there are two bronze pulpits, late
masterpieces by Donatello (1463-1466). The elderly sculptor, at the end
of his life, probably finished them with his students; giving us one of
the most important examples of his dramatic and tormented mature style.
Other famous masterpieces adorn the side chapels: in the second chapel
on the right is the "Marriage of the Virgin" by Rosso Fiorentino
(1529), and a little farther on is Desiderio da Settignano's Tabernacle
(1461). On the left side of the transept Angolo Bronzino's fresco
"Martyrdom of San Lorenzo" and Fillipo Lippi's "Annunciation" (around
1440). Originally painted for the Martelli Chapel it is one of the most
important paintings in the entire Quattrocento. Finally, we cannot
forget that the funeral monument for Bernardo Cennini is here. A
Florentine goldsmith in 1471 published Virgil's "Bucoliche" the first
book printed in Florence with the Nuremberg method that he secretly
reconstructed. The composer Francesco Landini, who was also chaplain
and organist in San Lorenzo, is buried here (1335-1397).
The Old Sacristy
Entering from the left transept, we finally come to the Old Sacristy:
spiritual heart of the entire complex and one of the most suggestive
and perfect spaces in the world. Its square form is topped with a
cupola articulated in pietra serena, Brunelleschi built the sacristy
from 1420-29, shortly after he designed the Ospedale degli Innocenti.
It can be considered the first and most perfect example of Renaissance
architecture. The great Donatello, a life-long friend and confidante of
Cosimo the Elder's, is also buried in this church. He worked on the
decoration of the sacristy for almost a decade (1435-43) filling it
with some of his greatest masterpieces: eight round polychrome reliefs
(in the pendentives of the dome and the lunettes) depicting the
"Evangelists" and "Episodes from the life of Saint John", two
terracotta bas-reliefs with Saint Cosma and Damiano (the Medici's
patron saints) and Stefano and Lorenzo and finally the two bronze
double doors next to the apse. The funeral monument to Piero and Giovanni de' Medici
on the left completes this exceptional space. Made for Cosimo's two
male heirs, this exceptional porphyry and bronze masterpiece (1472)
designed by Andrea del Verrocchio.
The Laurentian Library Coming out of the church, don't forget to stop
at the Laurentian Library. The entrance is on the right side of the
facade. First you come into Brunelleschi's beautiful cloister and then
the library founded by Cosimo the Elder and enlarged by his son Piero
and grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent. It is extraordinarily rich with
manuscripts and antique codices bought from Oriental merchants and
agents for the Medici bank from the time of Giovanni di Bicci and
increased after the General Council of 1439 when the Greek academians
who accompanied the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Emperor came to
the city and were graciously hosted by Cosimo the Elder, nurturing the
roots of the growing Humanism.
Among the most important manuscripts conserved here we find the
so-called "Medicean Virgilio" (IV-V century), Gustinian's Pandette (a
collection of laws from the IV century that constitutes the base of
modern law), the oldest existing copies of Escle's work (XI century),
Tucidide's, Herodotus' and Tacitus' writings, (X century), as well as
many other rare books including thousands of precious illuminated
manuscripts. The actual building of the Laurentian Library began in the
summer of 1524. Michelangelo was the architect and in three years he
created the beautiful vestibule with its wonderful play of artificial
windows, pilasters and decorations. The majestic staircase that seems
to be a sculpture thanks to the imaginative fanciful curvilinear design
of the stairs and the volutes opens on the elegant and spacious reading
room. He left his mark on the design of the ceiling, the reading desks
and the benches in fine inlaid wood. From an architectural point of
view this is a wonderful example of the mannerist style but the
artist's majestic eye also anticipates the Baroque. Work on the library
was interrupted twice and finally finished by Vasari and Ammannati in
1559. |
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