Description
San Lorenzo Cathedral is Genoa's cathedral, in the heart of the old town: a Gothic façade in bands of black and white, two lions on the steps, and inside treasures that range from the ashes of the patron saint to a bowl once believed to be the Holy Grail.
Consecrated in 1118, it was enlarged over the centuries: the sides are Romanesque, the façade Gothic on the French model, the dome and apse sixteenth-century, by Galeazzo Alessi.
Before going in, take your time over the façade. In the three thirteenth-century portals, inspired by the cathedrals of Rouen and Chartres, the central lunette shows Christ among the symbols of the four Evangelists and, below, the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence on the gridiron.
On the right-hand corner stands the Arrotino, the Knife Grinder, a statue that in fact probably represents Saint John the Evangelist and holds a sundial: it was the square's clock. Near the right-hand portal, at the foot of a column, a tiny marble dog lies asleep.
Inside, black-and-white striped arches carry the Romanesque ones in grey stone. In the left aisle opens the fifteenth-century Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, with a finely carved marble front and statues by Matteo Civitali and Andrea Sansovino.
It holds the ashes of the patron saint, which reached Genoa in 1098 after the First Crusade. In the presbytery, beneath Alessi's dome, Lazzaro Tavarone frescoed the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, framed by gilded stucco.
Below the church, the Treasury Museum, designed by Franco Albini, keeps the silver ark of the Baptist, the Zaccaria Cross and the Sacro Catino: an Islamic bowl of green glass that for centuries the Genoese believed was the Grail of the Last Supper.
In the right aisle there is a 381-millimetre British naval shell. On 9 February 1941 a shell of that calibre broke through the roof during a bombardment from the sea, bounced off the floor and failed to explode. The one on display is a copy: the original was thrown into the sea.
The carved dog, legend says, belonged to one of the stonemasons who worked on the façade, who wanted to remember it in marble. Stroking it is said to bring luck, but art historians consider it simply a medieval decorative motif.
The Gothic design called for twin towers on the façade. After the fire of 1296 only the right-hand one was finished, the 60-metre bell tower; the left one was left truncated.
Don't miss
• The Gothic façade and portals.
• The Arrotino and the little dog.
• Chapel of Saint John the Baptist.
• Treasury Museum and Sacro Catino.
• The 1941 shell.
Did you know?
• A marble chessboard is set into the left side: a legend links it to the revenge of the merchant Megollo Lercari.
• The board for nine men's morris is carved on the bases of the portals, accused of giving men an excuse to peek under the skirts of the women leaving church.
Consecrated in 1118, it was enlarged over the centuries: the sides are Romanesque, the façade Gothic on the French model, the dome and apse sixteenth-century, by Galeazzo Alessi.
Before going in, take your time over the façade. In the three thirteenth-century portals, inspired by the cathedrals of Rouen and Chartres, the central lunette shows Christ among the symbols of the four Evangelists and, below, the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence on the gridiron.
On the right-hand corner stands the Arrotino, the Knife Grinder, a statue that in fact probably represents Saint John the Evangelist and holds a sundial: it was the square's clock. Near the right-hand portal, at the foot of a column, a tiny marble dog lies asleep.
Inside, black-and-white striped arches carry the Romanesque ones in grey stone. In the left aisle opens the fifteenth-century Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, with a finely carved marble front and statues by Matteo Civitali and Andrea Sansovino.
It holds the ashes of the patron saint, which reached Genoa in 1098 after the First Crusade. In the presbytery, beneath Alessi's dome, Lazzaro Tavarone frescoed the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, framed by gilded stucco.
Below the church, the Treasury Museum, designed by Franco Albini, keeps the silver ark of the Baptist, the Zaccaria Cross and the Sacro Catino: an Islamic bowl of green glass that for centuries the Genoese believed was the Grail of the Last Supper.
In the right aisle there is a 381-millimetre British naval shell. On 9 February 1941 a shell of that calibre broke through the roof during a bombardment from the sea, bounced off the floor and failed to explode. The one on display is a copy: the original was thrown into the sea.
The carved dog, legend says, belonged to one of the stonemasons who worked on the façade, who wanted to remember it in marble. Stroking it is said to bring luck, but art historians consider it simply a medieval decorative motif.
The Gothic design called for twin towers on the façade. After the fire of 1296 only the right-hand one was finished, the 60-metre bell tower; the left one was left truncated.
Don't miss
• The Gothic façade and portals.
• The Arrotino and the little dog.
• Chapel of Saint John the Baptist.
• Treasury Museum and Sacro Catino.
• The 1941 shell.
Did you know?
• A marble chessboard is set into the left side: a legend links it to the revenge of the merchant Megollo Lercari.
• The board for nine men's morris is carved on the bases of the portals, accused of giving men an excuse to peek under the skirts of the women leaving church.