Friday, January 11, 2008

Basilica di San Lorenzo


The Basilica di San Lorenzo is well run. Like many major churches now, it costs 3,50 Euro to get in and is worth is. The price includes the church (with sacristy) and the treasury (exit the church to get to it).

The inside of the church is large and there is a fair amount to see that is interesting. The artwork is in great condition and striking to look at. As well, this is one of the only churches we've seen with heat lamps installed, discretely placed of course. Anyway, the biggest deal is that there are guides wandering around who will answer questions. We talked for about 30-40 minutes with one lady who explained things (in Italian) we could not have read or would even have noticed. So that was today’s conversation lesson. She pointed out several different architectural features and artwork telling us the stories behind them. So, ask when you go in. Don’t miss the Sagrestia Vecchia (the old sacristy) by Brunelleschi with its perfect geometric proportions; Burnelleschi also was responsible for the Duomo’s dome (no small task) and several other key structures in Florence. He is considered a seminal figure in Renaissance architecture. And you learned it here folks.

1 comment:

  1. all you guys ever do is eat and go to museums! jeeeez! the life of riley in italy... :)

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