San Lorenzo Square

Not far from the cathedral and Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Piazza San Lorenzo is dominated by the basilica, with its unfinished façade and magnificent interior, a masterpiece by Brunelleschi. The broad Latin-cross complex stands above a flight of steps. The large dome behind belongs to the Chapel of the Princes in the Medici Chapels Museum, which also includes Michelangelo’s New Sacristy on the right. Brunelleschi’s Old Sacristy lies on the left side of the transept. The whole area bears the imprint of the Medici, through the monument before the church to Giovanni delle Bande Nere, father of Cosimo I, and nearby Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the dynasty’s first city residence. San Lorenzo itself was their chosen church. Directly opposite is the Ximenian Observatory, an important scientific institution with historic roots. Nearby stands the Mercato Centrale, or San Lorenzo market, comprising a nineteenth-century building and numerous outdoor stalls, once located in this square.