San Lorenzo in Lucina

Contents

The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina (Italian: Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Lucina or simply Italian: San Lorenzo in Lucina; Latin: S. Laurentii in Lucina) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. The basilica is located in Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina in the Rione Colonna, about two blocks behind the Palazzo Montecitorio, proximate to the Via del Corso.

History

The basilica is dedicated to St. Lawrence of Rome, deacon and martyr. The name "Lucina" derives from that of the Roman matron of the AD 4th century who permitted Christians to erect a church on the site. Pope Marcellus I supposedly hid on the site during the persecutions of Roman Emperor Maxentius, and Pope Damasus I was elected there in AD 366.

The consecration of a basilica dedicated to St Lawrence by Pope Sixtus III, who was Pope from AD 432 to AD 440 is mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis. Translator of the text, Louise Loomis, states that this basilica is the San Lorenzo fuori le Mura but notes that Arthur Frothingham believes it to be the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina.[1] Frothingham makes note of Titulus Lucinae in a list of parish churches in Rome.[2]

In the preserved decrees of a synod held in AD 499 by Pope Symmachus, the denomination of a church as Titulus Lucinae is mentioned, which was the dedicated to St Lawrence, according to the translators of the manuscript.[3]

A basilica dedicated to St Lawrence is also mentioned under the Liber Pontificalis,

The church was first reconstructed by Pope Paschal II in the early 12th century.

The church was consecrated by Pope Celestine III on 26 May 1196.[4]

In 1606 Pope Paul V assigned the basilica to the order of Clerics Regular Minor. Cosimo Fanzago completely renovated the interior in the 17th century, including conversion of the side aisles of the basilica into chapels. The ceiling was also frescoed by the Neapolitan Mometto Greuter.

In the 19th century, in a subsequent restoration of the interior commissioned by Pope Pius IX, the Baroque decoration of the nave was replaced with frescoes painted by Roberto Bompiani.

The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Laurentii in Lucina is Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, who was appointed on 20 November 2010.[5]

Art and architecture

In the rebuilding of 1650, the aisled basilical plan was destroyed and the lateral naves were replaced by Baroque chapels, which were then leased to noble families to decorate and use as mausolea. This was done by inserting walls behind the piers of the arcades. The arcades themselves have solid, square piers with imposts. The flat ceiling is coffered, gilded, and decorated with rosettes and has a painting of the Apotheosis of St. Lawrence in the central panel. This ceiling was made in 1857 under Pope Pius IX.

Guido Reni's Christ on the Cross (1639–40)[6] is visible above the high altar, framed by six Corinthian columns of black marble. Below the altar is a reliquary in which is preserved the gridiron on which tradition maintains that St. Lawrence was martyred. The marble throne of Pope Paschal II in the apse behind the high altar has an inscription that records the translation to the basilica of its relics of St. Lawrence of Rome. A Madonna and Child with John of Nepomuk and Archangel Michael by Onofrio Avellino hangs in the apse behind the high altar.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the Cappella Fonseca, fourth on the right, for the Portuguese Gabriele Fonseca, who was physician to Pope Innocent X (1644–55).[7] The chapel has some fine busts by Bernini and his workshop, including a portrait of Fonseca to the left of the altar. This chapel also has the painting Elisha Pouring Salt into the Bitter Fountain by Giacinto Gimignani of 1664.

The French artist Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) is buried in the second chapel on the right side and is commemorated with a monument that the French Ambassador François-René de Chateaubriand donated in 1830.

The second chapel on the left has an altarpiece by Carlo Saraceni.

The fifth chapel on the left was designed and decorated by Simon Vouet. His two paintings depict St. Francis of Assisi: one shows him receiving his religious habit and the other depicts his temptations. The altarpiece shows St. Francis Appearing to Giacinta Marescotti on Her Deathbed by Marco Benefial.

Giuseppe Sardi designed the baptistery to the left of the entrance in the 17th century.

In the basilica is also the tomb of the composer Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710). Three years after the composer's death, his portrait was placed there, sculpted in Carrara marble by Pietro Francesco Papaleo (circa 1642–1718). The portrait was a commission by the composer's nephew Felice Bernardo Ricordati and his pupil Bernardo Gaffi.

Charles Stewart, an officer in the Papal army who died in 1864, is buried in the basilica. He was the son of John Stewart, Prince Charles Edward Stuart's ("Charles III", the "Young Pretender") "maestro di casa". Charles had ennobled John as a baronet in 1784.

Just outside the Basilica is the original sculpture of When I was a Stranger, created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz as part of the Matthew 25 collection installed throughout Rome on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.[8][9]

The Basilica made international headlines in early 2026 when Italian newspaper La Repubblica noted that the restoration of a 2000 painting of an angel, flanking a bust of Umberto II, bore an apparent resemblance to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.[10] The Diocese of Rome said it would "immediately initiate the necessary investigations",[10] while the painting in question was subsequently covered with a layer of paint or plaster.[11]

List of cardinal protectors

Interments

References

  1. 1.Loomis, Louise Ropes (1916). The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis). 1 - To the Pontificate of Gregory I. Leopold Classic Library. p. 95.
  2. 2.Frothingham, A. L. Jr. (1908). The monuments of Christian Rome from Constantine to the renaissance. New York: The Macmillan company.
  3. 3.portal.sds.ox.ac.uk. doi:10.25446/oxford.13826261 https://portal.sds.ox.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/E02744_The_decrees_in_Latin_of_a_synod_held_in_499_in_St_Peter_s_basilica_Rome_by_Pope_Symmachus_498-514_are_subscribed_to_by_a_number_of_presbyters_of_the_city_s_titular_churches_each_identified_by_the_name_of_his_titulus_a_few_of_which_ar/13826261. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
  4. 4.Vincenzo Forcella, Iscrizioni delle Chiese e d'altri edificii di Roma Vol. V (Roma: Bencini 1874), p. 119, no. 344.
  5. 5.David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy: San Lorenzo in Lucina (Cardinal Titular Church), accessed 23 March 2016.
  6. 6.D. Stephen Pepper, Guido Reni: a complete catalogue of his works with an introductory text (Phaidon, 1984 ), pp. 62 and 168.
  7. 7.Prosper Mandrosius, ʘEATPON, in quo maximorum Christiani orbis pontificum Archiatros (Romae: Typographio Paleariniano, 1784), pp. 53-4.
  8. 8.Boudreau, Evan. "Toronto Anglican parish welcomes Schmalz's latest Christ sculpture". www.catholicregister.org. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  9. 9.Srl, Pixell. "Benedette da Mons. Fisichella le nuove statue di Tim Schmalz". www.aslroma1.it. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  10. 10.[10.2]Kassam, Ashifa (1 February 2026). "Likeness of restored angel to Giorgia Meloni triggers investigations in Rome". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  11. 11."An angel resembling Italy's Meloni is painted over after an outcry from church and state". AP News. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  12. 12.Hüls 1977, p. 182.
  13. 13.Hüls 1977, pp. 181–182.
  14. 14.Hüls 1977, p. 181.