# Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence > San Lorenzo is one of the oldest churches in Florence and the Medici family's parish church, rebuilt by Brunelleschi in the 15th century. You'll know it by its rough, never-finished stone front; inside is a bright Renaissance nave, the Old Sacristy and Donatello's bronze pulpits. Entry is paid; allow 40 to 45 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-lorenzo - City: [Florence](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence), Italy - YesGo score: 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid, basilica and Old Sacristy - Opening hours: Daily, Sunday from early afternoon - Highlights: Brunelleschi, Donatello, Old Sacristy - Next door: Medici Chapels, Laurentian Library, market - Time needed: 40–45 minutes - Location: 5 minutes from the Duomo and the station - Coordinates: 43.77500, 11.25389 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **393** — the first church on the site was consecrated (source: English Wikipedia) - **1419** — Brunelleschi began rebuilding it for the Medici (source: English Wikipedia) - **1421–1440** — the Old Sacristy was built (source: English Wikipedia) - **Donatello** — made the bronze pulpits, his last works (source: English Wikipedia) - **Michelangelo** — designed a façade that never got beyond a model (source: English Wikipedia) ## History of the Basilica of San Lorenzo A church on this site was consecrated as early as **393**, and for about three centuries it served as the city's cathedral, which makes **San Lorenzo** one of the oldest churches in Florence. The present building was begun in **1419** to designs by **Filippo Brunelleschi**, paid for by the banker **Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici** and his neighbours. The Medici lived around the corner in [Palazzo Medici Riccardi](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-medici-riccardi), and San Lorenzo became their parish church. Generation after generation they hired the best artists of the day here, from Brunelleschi and Donatello to Michelangelo, until a whole complex had grown up around the basilica, with a cloister, a library and lavish chapels. The surprise is the front. It's still bare, rough stone. In 1518 Pope Leo X, himself a Medici, asked **Michelangelo** to clad it; he produced a design and a wooden model, but work never started. The model is in the Casa Buonarroti museum, and on Piazza San Lorenzo you see the undressed wall, which has a beauty of its own. ## Inside: Brunelleschi and Donatello The interior is one of the first pieces of true **Renaissance** architecture. Brunelleschi laid it out in clear proportions: grey pietra serena columns, white walls, round arches and a flat coffered ceiling. After the dim Gothic churches, this calm, light space struck people as a revelation. In the nave stand Donatello's two bronze **pulpits**, with reliefs of the life of Christ, the great sculptor's last works and full of movement and feeling. One side chapel has **Filippo Lippi's Annunciation**, with lovely perspective; another holds Rosso Fiorentino's Marriage of the Virgin, striking for its unusual colours. Left of the altar is the **Old Sacristy**, built by Brunelleschi in **1421–1440**: a small cube of a room under a dome, worked out like a geometry problem. **Donatello** did the decoration, with coloured roundels, bronze doors and reliefs. It's one of the first complete Renaissance interiors anywhere. ## What to see in San Lorenzo - **Brunelleschi's nave** — textbook Renaissance proportions. - **Donatello's pulpits** — two bronze pulpits in the nave. - **Old Sacristy** — the dome and Donatello's roundels. - **Filippo Lippi's Annunciation** — in the Martelli Chapel. - **The cloister** — a peaceful court with an orange tree. - **Steps up to the Laurentian Library** — designed by Michelangelo. > **Three tickets on one block** The Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici Chapels and the Laurentian Library form one complex but have separate entrances and tickets. The basilica is entered from the square; the Medici Chapels from the back of the building, on Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini. The library is reached through the cloister to the left of the front and keeps shorter hours. ## The cloister and the Laurentian Library To the left of the church is a quiet arcaded **cloister** with an orange tree in the middle, one of the calmest spots in a busy neighbourhood. From here stairs lead up to the [Laurentian Library](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/laurentian-library), designed for the Medici by **Michelangelo**; its vestibule, with an astonishing stone staircase, is counted among the boldest architectural ideas of the 16th century. Behind the altar, but with their own entrance, are the [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels): the vast, multicoloured marble Chapel of the Princes and Michelangelo's New Sacristy with his famous figures of Dawn, Dusk, Day and Night. See them the same day; together with the basilica they tell nearly the whole story of Medici taste. ## How to get to the Basilica of San Lorenzo 1. From **Santa Maria Novella** station, 5–7 minutes on foot. 2. From [Florence Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-cathedral), 4 minutes along Borgo San Lorenzo. 3. From the [Accademia Gallery](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/galleria-dell-accademia), 7 minutes. 4. The basilica entrance is the main door on Piazza San Lorenzo. ## San Lorenzo market and tips The streets around the basilica are taken over by the **San Lorenzo market**: rows of stalls selling leather jackets, bags, belts, scarves and souvenirs. Haggling is normal and quality varies a lot, so look carefully. A couple of minutes away is the covered **Mercato Centrale**: fresh food downstairs, a food hall upstairs with pasta, pizza and Florence's famous lampredotto sandwiches. Visit the basilica in the morning before the big groups, then have lunch at the Mercato Centrale. On Sunday mornings there are services and visitors are let in only in the afternoon. Dress as for any working church, with shoulders and knees covered. Photos without flash are usually allowed. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Buy a basilica ticket - [ ] Find Donatello's pulpits in the nave - [ ] Step into the Old Sacristy left of the altar - [ ] Sit in the cloister and climb to the Laurentian Library - [ ] Have lunch at the Mercato Centrale ## Florence's churches: compare and choose Churches and basilicas in Florence rated by YesGo. - [Florence Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-cathedral) — YesGo score 60/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Free; dome paid - [Santa Croce](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-croce) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Paid - [Santa Maria Novella](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santa-maria-novella) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Florence Baptistery](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/florence-baptistery) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Combined cathedral pass - [Basilica of San Lorenzo](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-lorenzo) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Paid - [Orsanmichele](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/orsanmichele) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Santo Spirito](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/santo-spirito) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free - [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [San Miniato al Monte](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-miniato) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free - [Brancacci Chapel](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/brancacci-chapel) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid, timed entry - [Giotto's Campanile](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/giottos-campanile) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Combined cathedral pass ## The Medici quarter in half a day The Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Laurentian Library and the Medici Chapels, then Palazzo Medici Riccardi. 1. [Basilica of San Lorenzo](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/san-lorenzo) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Paid 2. [Laurentian Library](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/laurentian-library) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Paid 3. [Medici Chapels](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/medici-chapels) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid 4. [Palazzo Medici Riccardi](https://yesgo.io/italy/florence/palazzo-medici-riccardi) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid ## Don't mix it up The Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapels are one building but separate museums with different entrances and tickets. And don't confuse Florence's San Lorenzo with San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome. ## Tips - The Medici Chapels have their own entrance. - Mornings are quieter. - The Mercato Centrale is next door. - Cover shoulders and knees. ## Questions ### What is there to see in San Lorenzo, Florence? Brunelleschi's nave, Donatello's bronze pulpits, the Old Sacristy, Filippo Lippi's Annunciation and the cloister with the stairs to the Laurentian Library. ### Why does San Lorenzo have no façade? Michelangelo was commissioned to clad it in 1518, but work never began; only his wooden model survives. ### Are the Medici Chapels included in the San Lorenzo ticket? No, they are a separate museum with their own entrance and ticket. ### How much is entry to San Lorenzo? Entry is paid; check the current price at the door or on the basilica's official site. ### How long do you need at San Lorenzo? 40 to 45 minutes including the Old Sacristy and cloister. ## How we checked History and works from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence and Old Sacristy - Official basilica site, operamedicealaurenziana.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.