Basilica di San Lorenzo

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
Walking up those stone stairs a reminder goes through your head of the number of people, over the centuries, that have done the same thing. Entering the first room you are hit by the ceiling, wonderfully carved wood. Under your feet, don’t walk on it, a beautifully tiled floor. The wooden benches that, again over the centuries, have seated many learned people.
The central circular library room with its wonderful furnishings and paintings.
Finally, a room filled with illuminated books written by those monks. No modern day computers to ‘help’ them and, jokingly, no spell check or tipex for those mistakes LOL.
Finally, the cloisters where those hard working monks had their Spartan rooms.
A fantastic few hours spent. Well worth hunting this bibliotheca out.

As I went out to explore Florence on my first day, I walked past this 2 times before I realized it’s significance. Hence, to me there really wasn’t much. I did, however, really like all of the young people sitting on the steps playing music and relaxing.

Basilica di San Lorenzo (aka: Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches in Firenze. The church is located in the center of Firenze’s market district and is the burial site of the Medici family. This church was consecrated in 393 and is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Firenze.
The church is part of a larger monastery that contains other prominent artistic and architectural works: the Old Sacristy by Brunelleschi, with interior decoration and sculpture by Donatello; the Laurentian Library by Michelangelo; the New Sacristy based on Michelangelo’s designs; and the Medici Chapels by Matteo Nigetti.
TIP: There is a separate entrance fee for Medici Chapels. Both sites are covered by the Firenze card, but I would only purchase this card if you have three days to explore Florence or if you are traveling to Florence during the summer and want to avoid the long lines.

The place is located not too far from Santa Maria Novella station in the market district. The Basilica is one of the oldest churches in Florence. It truly represents Classic Renaissance architecture. The outside is very old looking and doesn’t look well maintained but it gives its Classic Renaissance look.
Much of the history is designed by Filippo Brunelleschi around about the 15^th century and is the burial place of the prominent members of the Medici family. There is an admission fee for the church and the cloister, but there is not much to see so I opt out of visiting inside. The Medici Chapels are at the back of the church and are a separate attraction also require a separate admission fees.

From all the churches that I have been to in Italy — this is the only church where I had felt a huge connection. Its a bit old on the outside but once you walk inside it is simply beautiful. I cant wait to go back and visit!

San Lorenzo ist ein Must in Florenz! Grabkirche der Medici. Sieht von außen zwar alt aus, ist aber tatsächlich bereits als Renaisance-​Kirche begonnen worden. Es fehlt nur die Marmor (west)fassade. Ich spare mir/​euch weitere Details. Nur eins noch: die Neue Sakristei von Michelangelo ist Montags geschlossen! während die Kirche geöffnet ist. 6, — Eintritt

I want to say that I can’t believe the amount of churches in Italy… but really I can. What I don’t believe was what happened when I walked into this Basilica. If you’ve ever seen the movie Loaded Weapon which is a spoof of the Lethal Weapon series there is a scene were they walk into the Mel Gibson characters trailer and inside is a beautiful mansion!
That’s what I felt like when I walked into here. I mean from the outside it looks like an old run down building and that’s pretty much what I expected on the inside but WOW there is a major contrast from the outside and inside.
The outside is very old looking and doesn’t look well maintained. The inside is the opposite. If you’re into architecture and churches then I can’t see someone not liking this place. However if you don’t care for things like this then I’d definitely skip it.
This place is located in the heart of Florence and is surrounded by many restaurants, shops and has a few markets within a hop, step and jump away.