San Lorenzo in Panisperna

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San Lorenzo in Panisperna^[1], or San Lorenzo in Formosa^[2], church on Via Panisperna, Rome. It was built on the site of its dedicatee's martyrdom - under its porch is a chapel containing the oven said to have been used for it, and the late 16th century fresco behind the high altar (said to be by Pasquale Cati, a poor pupil of Michelangelo) portrays the martyrdom.

[edit] History

Tradition states the first building was constructed during the reign of Emperor Constantine I^[3], though the first written evidence for one is from 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII rebuilt the church and annexed an abbey to it.^[4]The crucifix by the high altar is also from the 14th century.

The present church is a result of a rebuilding by Carlo Rainaldi in 1575-6, under Pope Gregory XIII. It was at this time it became known as 'in Panisperna' rather than 'in Formosa', and that the present facade was built. A new outer portico was added in the 17th century, then restored in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII and a year afterwards decorated with images of Sts Lawrence and Francis of Assisi, who in 1843 had been ordained bishop in this church. Leo also added a steep flight of steps in front of the church, leading to a tree-lined courtyard. There is a modern bronze statue of St Bridget of Sweden here (see more below).

A medieval house is preserved next to the church with an exterior staircase, one of the few such houses to have been preserved in Rome.

[edit] Chapels

The church has a single nave with three chapels on each side.

• South side

1. includes a painting of St Clare of Assisi by Antonio Nessi, made in 1756, and a ceiling fresco depicting the Glory of St Lawrence by Antonio Bicchierai.
2. Contains the tomb of the brothers St Crispin and St Crispinianus, with a painting of the saints by Giovanni Francesco Romano.
3. includes a painting of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception by Giuseppe Ranucci.

• North side

1. includes a painting of The Stigmata of St Francis by Niccolò Lapiccola.
2. The Chapel of St Bridget, where she was buried before her body was moved to Sweden. She had used to beg for alms for the poor outside this church, and prayed before the crucifix by the high altar. Now, a martyr named Victoria lies underneath the alter in the chapel. The painting of St Bridget Praying before the Crucifix is by Giuseppe Montesanti, and was painted in 1757.
3. Includes an 18th century crucifix of the Roman school.

[edit] References

1. ^ Panisperna most probably refers to the tradition of the Poor Clares in the adjacent convent of distributing bread and ham (pane e perna) on August 10th, Lawrence's feast day, in remembrance of his distributing funds from the church to the poor.
2. ^ After Pope Formosus who built the first attested church here.
3. ^ Ie only 100 years after the martyrdom
4. ^ That abbey was given to the Benedictines in 1451, and then had the Franciscan Friars of St Clare settled in it by Cardinal Jacopo Colonna in 1896, who also restored the church and monastery. The Franciscans now serve the church.

• Nyborg