Basilica of San Lorenzo
Filippo Brunelleschi · Florence, Italy · 1469
San Lorenzo is a foundational work of Renaissance church design and the parish church of the Medici. Brunelleschi organized the nave with a clear modular rhythm of columns, round arches and gray pietra serena against pale plaster, translating early Christian basilican space through a new proportional discipline. The Old Sacristy condenses the same geometry into a domed square room, while later additions by Michelangelo include the New Sacristy and Laurentian Library. The unfinished rough masonry façade leaves the section and mass of the church unusually exposed to the piazza. The completion date is approximate because construction continued after Brunelleschi's death and the ensemble accumulated significant later campaigns.