Sacred Destinations Travel Blog: Updated: San Lorenzo, Rome

Our article on San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls) in Rome has just been updated with lots more information and a gallery of over 100 photos from our visit in April 2008.

This basilica stands over the grave of St. Lawrence, a Roman deacon who was martyred by roasting on a gridiron in 258 AD. He famously called out to his persecutors, "Turn me over, I am done on this side!" Lawrence was buried in a catacomb grave, and Constantine the Great built a grand funerary hall next to it in 314 AD. It has been a major place of pilgrimage ever since.

Tomb of St. Lawrence under the 13th-century choir and altar. The tomb is still in its original place - the catacombs around it were carved away to make room for the church.

The current church is an interesting combination of a Byzantine church built in the 6th century (the east end) and a nave reconstructed out of an even older church in the 13th century (west end). You can see the place where the two churches join in the aerial photo at the top of this post, next to the tower.

Sixth-century Byzantine architecture and mosaic

Next to this fascinating ancient church is a cloister, which was built in the 12th century and now functions as an outdoor museum of artifacts discovered during modern excavations. Most of them date to the earliest centuries of Christianity in Rome.