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San Lorenzo fuori le Mura St Lawrence outside the Walls

3 Piazzale del Verano

Church dedicated to St Lawrence, 3rd century deacon and martyr.

History

The first church was built in the 4th century over the tomb of St Lawrence. This was done by digging into the catacomb he was buried in and isolating his shrine so that a church could be built around it.

It was restored by Pope Pelagius II (579-590). This church has been preserved as part of the present church; it is the part beyond the altar.

Pope Honorius III expanded the church by connecting a 5th century church (built by Pope Sixtus III anddedicated to Our Lady) to San Lorenzo. The old church became a new choir and sanctuary. This placed the high altar with the tomb of St Lawrence in the middle of the church. The orientation of the church was reversed. It can clearly be seen that the two parts do not align perfectly; this is because the basic structure of the 5th century church of Our Lady stood has a slightly different orientation, and rather than demolish it the architect decided to work within the exsisting walls.

Blessed Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) had Virginio Vespagniani restore the church. Most of the Baroque additions were removed at this time.

The church was damaged during the 2nd World War (see below).

It is often referred to as San Lorenzo in Campo Verano, named after its location.

The church is served by Franciscans. Exterior

The façade was almost completely destroyed on July 16th 1943, when it was hit by a bomb during an allied air raid on the nearby railroad yards. It has since been restored to its former glory.

The portico, c. 1220, has Cosmatesque decoration by the Vassaletti family of craftsmen. The 13th century frescoes, which have been reconstructed, depict scenes from the lives of St Stephen and St Lawrence, both deacons and martyrs.

There are two ancient sarcophagi in the portico. Of special interest is a Christian one, possibly decorated in the 7th century on an older sarcophagus, with a relief depicting putti picking grapes. Contrary to the norm, it has no obvious Christian symbols. The vines and grapes are symbols of the Eucharist, but it was usually done in a less subtle way than this, and this is a rare example of art for art's sake on a Christian sarcophagus.

Two Romanesque stone lions were moved here from the old entrance.

In the portico you will also find a monument over the statesman Alcido de Gaspari (died 1954). It was made by one of the leading sculptors of modern Italy, Giacomo Manzù.

The campanile was built in the 12th century. Plan

See a plan of San Lorenzo fuori le mura Interior

Just inside the entrance is the tomb of Guglielmo Cardinal Fieschi, who died in 1256. He was laid to rest in an ancient sarcophagus, incidentally decorated with a relief depicting a pagan marriage feast.

The choir enclosure and pulpit has Cosmatesque decoration, and there is also a fine Cosmatesque Paschal candlestick here. They were made in the 12th or 13th century by the Cosmati.

The Ionic capital on the column directly behind the pulpit is interesting. It has carvings of a frog and a lizard, which you should be able to see from the floor. If there aren't too many people around, you may get permission to climb up on the pulpit to look more closely at it. A theory about these unusual carvings is that they are the signatures of two Spartan slaves mentioned by the Roman historian Pliny as the architects of the Portico of Octavia - their names, Batrachos and Sauros, meant 'frog' and 'lizard'. The capital is clearly reused from an older building, so it seems certain that it is their work.

On the triumphal arch are Byzantine mosaics from the 6th century, depicting Christ with saints.

The confessio is below the high altar, and can be entered from the nave. Here, St Lawrence and St Stephen are enshrined. The latter was brought here from Constantinople by Pope Pelagius II when he restored the church. On the sides of the entrance to the confessio, there are steps that will take you to the oldest part of the church.

Behind the high altar is a papal altar. Above it is a baldachino with an inscription naming the makers, of the Cosmati family, and dating it to 1148. Four of the Cosmati signed it: Giovanni, Pietro, Augusto and Sassone, all sons of Paolo. This is one of the oldest signed works by the Cosmati.

The episcopal throne at the end of the choir and a screen near it have Cosmatesque decoration and date from 1254. Looking from the choir back towards the entrance, the arch in the oldest part has 6th century mosaics, made during Pope Pelagius II's restoration. The Pope is depicted without a halo, holding a model of the church. The other persons are Sts Lawrence and Stephen, the Apostles Peter and Paul and the Roman martyr St Hippolytus. Only the figures of St Lawrence and Pope Pelagius II are in their original state; the others are the results of later restorations.

Beneath the floor of the choir is the original floor level of the first church, where a porch was adapted as a chapel for the tomb of Blessed Pope Pius IX, who died in 1878. The tomb can be reached from the old narthex, behind the wall that the episcopal throne stands against.

The entrance to two catacombs, those of Cyriaca and Hippolytus, is in the left aisle. They are rarely opened to visitors.

Opposite that entrance is the sacristy, where there is a small shop selling postcards and guide-books. Walk through the sacristy, and you'll reach a 12th century Romanesque cloister. Around the walls are fragments of sculpture and inscriptions from the catacombs. Part of one of the bombs that hit the basilica is also kept here. The entrance to the Catacombs of St Cyriaca in in the cloister.

The church has a gallery, which was either built for the use of women in the Eastern tradition, or to provide an entrance from a higher level since the church was built against the side of a hill. Special notes

Because the church lies at the gates of the Campo Verano, one of Rome's cemeteries, funeral services are frequently held here. The cemetery was established in 1837.