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San Lorenzo In Lucina
The wedge-shaped Largo San Lorenzo is a surprisingly spacious and relatively peaceful escape from the bustle of the Corso. On its left side, the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina stands out among the largely undistinguished buildings, due to its manifestly ancient campanile and columned portico; the church originally dates from the fifth century but was rebuilt in the twelfth century. Inside, like so many Roman churches, it doesn’t look or feel nearly so old, indeed much of it dates from the seventeenth century, but there are several features of interest, not least a section of the griddle on which St Lawrence was roasted, in a reliquary in the first chapel on the right - though this is almost impossible to see. A little further down on the same side, the tomb of Nicholas Poussin is a delicate nineteenth-century marble affair by the French sculptor Chateaubriand; Poussin spent much of his life in Rome, and died here in 1665. Beyond, take a look also at Bernini’s bust of the doctor of Innocent X, Fonseca, in the next chapel but one, and the Crucifixion by Guido Reni in the apse.
