San Lorenzo in Lucina
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.
Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina
AD 4th century
65 metres (213 ft)
16 metres (52 ft)
18 metres (59 ft)
History[edit]
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. Pope Sixtus III consecrated a church on the site in 440 AD. The church was denominated the Titulus Lucinae, and is so mentioned in the acts of the synod of AD 499 of Pope Symmachus. 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.[1]
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,[2] established in AD 684, is Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, who was appointed on 20 November 2010.
Media related to San Lorenzo in Lucina (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons