Cattedrale di S.Lorenzo

Genoa's Cathedral

Piazza San Lorenzo
Genova, Genoa 16123

Phone: +39 010 557 4096

This church, dedicated to S. Lorenzo became the city's cathedral in the 10th century AD after it was deemed to be safer than the more primitive S. Siro cathedral, as it was situated inside the fortified walls built in 864 AD. 1099 saw the start of the construction of a better-suited building. The apsidal part was consecrated by the pope Gelasio II in 1118, while 1160 saw the building of the lateral walls with their beautiful sculpted portals dedicated to S. Giovanni and S. Gottardo. The three black and white striped marble portals on the front are sculpted with stories of the Virgin Mary and are similar to those on the Cathedrals in Chartres and Rouen. They can be traced back to 13th century Franco Norman craftsmanship, providing the most interesting example of the French gothic style in Italy. The construction of the cathedral, which can be said to have lasted for centuries thanks to artists from Pisa, Lombardy and France, gave rise to an interesting mixture of styles, especially visible in the black and white facade. The statue of a saint with a sundial called the Arrotino is French gothic, the column-bearing lions are nineteenth century, the rose window is 15th century, the two towers, one of which is unfinished are 15th and 16th century. The inside is made up of three naves flanked by columns and reclaimed roman capitals, and owes its current appearance to the refurbishment carried out after the fire in 1296. During the refurbishment props were used to rebuild the lower part using pointed gothic arches, maintaining the overhead round Roman arches. In general, however, the church is mostly characterised by the bare medieval style enhanced by the lack of wall decoration, except for the important fresco in the lunette on the internal front wall (Giudizio Universale, fourteenth century). The largest of the side altars is dedicated to S. John the Baptist, patron of the city, whose relics are thought to have been brought to Genoa after the crusades and now sit in a valuable 14th century urn made by Norman craftsmen. The fifteenth century sculptor G. Gaggini was very involved in the adorning of the chapel with several statues of Sansovino. The Lercari chapel at the end of the left-hand nave dates back to the 16th century. The frescoes were done by L. Cambiaso and G.B. Castello il Bergamasco. The sober dome by G. Alessi and the presbytery are also from the same period. The bronzes on the altar in the presbytery are interesting. Everyone from Genoa knows the story of the bomb that sits at the beginning of the right hand nave. On 9th February 1941 it hit the cathedral destroying part of the casing, but remaining miraculously unexploded. The sacristy leads to the valuable Museo del Tesoro di S.Lorenzo.

Open Hours: Richiesta per le Ores