In the church ambulatory, on its walls, we will notice elements uncovered during archeological works: the remains of the decorations of a Roman church, including mosaics from the Cosmati workshop, XII century inscriptions documenting the act of church consecration, the remains of a XV century tombstone slab, as well as an interesting, generally forgotten, another tombstone slab, the work of a significant Roman classicist from the XIX century – Pietro Tenerani, completed in 1825. It is worth taking a look at it. It is dedicated to the prematurely deceased Clelia Severini. The nineteen-year old girl, departing the world of the living, is sought off, by the mourning and grieving parents and a dog, not understanding why its owner had to die, jumping at her robes in a gesture of devotion. This relief is interesting, not only thanks to its melancholic aura. It was also an inspiration for the great Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi, who devoted a few moving verses to this monument of human commemoration.

Entering the church, it is impossible not to notice its XII century portal, which is flanked by two stone antique lions holding a lamb and an infant in their paws. In the church interior we will find few almost textbook works of art. They were created in the XVII century, when the early-Christian church was modernized, thanks to the entrepreneurship of the monks placed there by Pope Innocent X, from the Order of the Clerics Regular Minor, which sold individual lots in the church to wealthy citizens of the then Rome, so that they would be able to build family chapels within. They were adorned with the best works of masters of the epoch - Guido Reni, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Saraceni, and others. Thanks to the money that was collected, the monks took care to have the new, Baroque interior fitted appropriately as well. Before we devote a few words to it though, it is necessary to mention the original structure, which was built here in distant times, reaching all the way back to Emperor Octavius Augustus.

In this location, which was once located outside the city walls, the emperor built, at the beginning of our era, an enormous sundial, with dimensions equaling two football fields. The remains of these arrangements can be found in the catacombs of the church, as well as in the nearby Palazzo Montecitorio. The obelisk found there (solar obelisk), in the past served as the hand of the aforementioned sundial. The famous Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis), today located by the Tiber River, was also previously found here. In subsequent decades the sundial was taken apart, while the area occupied by it was settled and built over. Until today remains of an ancient house, which was built here most likely in the II century of our era, are preserved in the church catacombs. Its mosaic floor with ornamental designs and a pool have been preserved until the present. The location where the house stood was occupied in the following century by a multi-story tenement house (insula), with shops on the ground floor, where a woman named Lucina lived. And it is she, as tradition would have it, who allowed a Christian commune to use rooms in her house. So it is in this very place, where one of the first so-called titulae was established – a meeting place for the followers of Christ, in a period when the religion was not favorably looked upon, while periods of persecutions intertwined with periods of relative freedom. Here, according to Liber Pontificalis, Damasus I was elected as pope in the year 366 A.D. And also here (titulus Lucinae), his followers gathered, in order to prepare a plan for the election of their candidate. At the same time street riots erupted between  them and the supporters of his opponent – Ursicinus, until the latter was exiled from the city by the prefect of Rome.

The construction of the original basilica, with three naves, similar in size to present-day church, dates back to the second half of the V century, to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III. Perhaps due to the destruction of Lucina’s house during the Vandal invasion, it was agreed to build a church in its place, dedicated to an important and very popular Roman saint – Lawrence. However, in its name, the name of the protector of Christians, the owner of the house which welcomed them so readily, remained. Outside the walls of this early-Christian church, two baptismal fonts were discovered, used for the typical at that time ceremony of baptism by immersing the entire body in water – one for adults, the other most likely for children or for the washing of one’s feet.

What happened to the basilica in later years is relatively unknown. It was not until the year 1084, during the pontificate of Pope Paschalis II, when the church was reconstructed, after the tragic invasion of the Normans. Then, the aforementioned campanile was also built. The construction works stretched for many decades and were not completed until 1131. At the same time relics of the deacons murdered together with Lawrence appeared in the church, along with two other items connected with him – a gridiron upon which, according to the legend he was martyred, as well as chains, which he wore during his arrest. In an unaltered form the church remained until mid XVII century, when it was given over to the aforementioned Order of the Clerics Regular Minor. The side naves were built over, creating chapels out of them, as was the case with the column ambulatory.

In the middle of the XIX century the interior was cleaned, removing the luxurious decorations of the previous epoch and a coffer ceiling was created with a centrally situated scene of the Apotheosis of St. Lawrence and finally several of the columns in the ambulatory were “freed”. Removing the excess Baroque decorations allowed for the concentration on the most important elements of interior decoration. Further “cleaning” of the church and its façade took place in the thirties of the XX century

After entering the interior, the eyes of the onlooker are immediately drawn to the main altar. It was designed by a well-known Baroque artist, often employed in the city on the Tiber - Carlo Rainaldi. In its center we will see a well-lit and eye-catching at all times of the day painting – Guido Reni’s Crucifixion. Some claim, that it is the best work of this outstanding Baroque artist. Truly, the painting is magnificent, but also amazing. When we come closer, we will see a crucified Christ with a visage so filled with happiness, that almost joyful, yet we are filled with thought looking on at this, after all well-known iconographic motif. In the painting we do not see any wounds, blood, spasms, suffering, only joyful release – the arms spread out wide as if in an act of giving himself to a higher power. The floating, almost billowing loincloth covering Christ’s hips makes us aware, that here right in front of our eyes we see the assumption of the Son of God and his meeting with the Father. His death is not an end but a beginning of the road to eternal peace. Reni shows us Christ, whom we seldom see in works of art. He reminds us of the times of early Christians when, death was connected not with fear and pain, but it constituted a moment of that, which was most important for a Christian, achieving closeness to God. In vain, would we search in the painting for witnesses of Christ’s martyrdom, grieving at the foot of the cross. Neither will we hear any complaints from Christ himself: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In the background of an unidentified city, which may be Rome itself, on a hilly landscape, there hangs or more appropriately floats the Son of God, spreading out his arms in a gesture of welcoming   new life. This earthly one, which he leaves at his feet, along with a skull symbolizing vanitas (the insignificance of all earthy existence), he seems to surrender without regret and complaint.

The most artistically interesting chapels as seen from the main enterance:

• Annunciation Chapel (Cappella dell’Annunziata), fourth on the right – Fonseca family chapel. Within is the outstanding work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. A question which begs asking, how was this picky artist, who took on commissions only from the most important and wealthiest of the then world, convinced to design the family chapel and sculpt the image of a second-rate, albeit papal physician, Gabriele Fonseca, and it still remains a mystery to the minds of art historians. The deceased is depicted in a realistic way, while his no longer youthful face was captured in a moment of religious adulation. With one hand clenched upon his chest, and the other holding a rosary, he looks from the niche, deep within the chapel, in which the scene of the Annunciation is found. Other busts show the doctor’s mother and wife and were made by Bernini’s students. On the other hand the fourth bust was not completed until the XIX, century and only relates to the Baroque ones. Another work which draws our attention is located on the right side of the chapel – the painting of Giacinto Gimignani (1664), depicting the prophet Elisha, who at the request of the inhabitants of Jericho, complaining about poisoned water, with the aid of salt, in a miraculous way purifies the spring.

• Chapel of St. Lawrence (Cappella di San Lorenzo), first on the right – the gridiron and chains – the legendary tools connected with the suffering of the saint deacon – are found in the reliquary at the base of the altar. In the altar itself on the other hand, we will see an XVIII-century altarpiece (by Sigismondo Rosa), depicting Lucina showing Lawrence the designs of the church dedicated to him. The side walls are adorned with paintings by Giuseppe Creti, of which the topic is the saint’s martyrdom and an audience with Emperor Valerian, whom according to a legend, Lawrence was to have shown the true wealth of his Church, meaning the poor and the sick, who accompanied him.
• Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Hyacintha Marescotti (Cappella San Francesco d’Assisi e Santa Giacinta Marescotti) – fifth from the left. Its greatest treasure is the exceptional paintings and frescos of the French caravaggionist Simon Vouet. The decorations of the vault, depict scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. Paintings on either side of the chapel show episodes from the life of St. Francis: Investiture and Temptation Temptation of St. Francis  (1624).
• Chapel of St. Charles Borromeo (Cappella San Carlo Borromeo) – second from the left. In the main altar we will notice an interesting painting of the valued Baroque painter, Carlo Saraceni – Saint Charles Borromeo in Procession with a Nail of the Cross (1618)
• In the left transept, our attention is drawn by an immense tombstone, occupying the entire space of the arcade. It was sculpted by Augusto Peruzzi in 1869 and commemorates Cardinal Gabriele Filippo della Genga Sermattei.
• At one of the pillars (on the right) we will notice a modest tombstone (bust with a relief) of a great XVII-century classicist painter – Nicolas Poussin. The relief which adorns it, is reminiscent of Et Arcadia ego (Louvre, Paris), the most famous work of this French painter, who spent most of his life in Rome. In the past his art was simply adored, however, today we know him mainly as the author of unfavorable opinions about Caravaggio: he claimed that the downfall of painting coincided with the appearance of this painter.