PIAZZA E BASILICA DI SAN LORENZO

Piazza San Lorenzo, with a tipical market, is dominated by the Church of San Lorenzo. It was rebuilt along Romanesque lines in 1000 a.C. The present building dates to 1421 and was designed and built by Brunelleschi, but was finished by Antonio Manetti. The internal façade, the sacristy and the library are Michelangelo's designs. The interior has a nave separated from the side aisles by Corinthian columns. The left aisle have been designed by Donatello.

Under the arches of the last two bays of the nave are Donatello's two bronze pulpits, like two large classic arches on columns. The Sacrestia Vecchia, or Old Sacristy, was built by Brunelleschi. From the Chapel door you can came into the Chiostro Grande, or the Great Cloister, from which you get into the Laurenziana Library, founded by Cosimo the Old.

The prestigious library was realized on drawings of Michelangelo and contains a collection of codes and manuscripts.