The Basilica of Saint Lawrence (Italian: Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore) is a basilica in Milan, northern Italy, dedicated to the Christian martyr St. Lawrence.
Founded in the late 4th-early 5th century, it was renovated and redecorated in the 16th century. It has however maintained the original Byzantine structure, with a dome and four towers resembling those of Constantinople's Hagia Sofia. As usual for the period, the interior had a matroneum (balcony for female worshippers), now partially disappeared. Also the polychrome interior decoration is now missing. The dome was also rebuilt in Baroque style after the original had crumbled down.
Other chapels were added to the original edifice. Notable is that of St. Aquilinus, featuring important 4th century mosaics.
The square facing the basilica features the so-called Columns of St. Lawrence, one of the few remains of the Roman Mediolanum, dating from the 3rd century AD and probably belonging to the large baths built by the emperor Maximian. They were carried in the current place when the basilica construction was finished.
The apse area of the ancient basilica is now a park. Previously the area was occupied by a channel or a lake (probably with a port), while later it was used in public executions, one of which is recounted in Alessandro Manzoni's Storia della Colonna Infame.
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