Old Sacristy San Lorenzo Plan

San lorenzo was the parish church of the medici family.

Old sacristy san lorenzo plan. 1433 1443 including terracotta reliefs of the life of st. Intentional reintroduction of anthropomorphic classical corinthian pilasters and ionic columns with a fully developed architrave the use of basic geometric relationships and a strong emphasis on the centralization of space. Old sacristy of san lorenzo florence 1419 28 architect. The sagrestia vecchia di san lorenzo or old sacristy of san lorenzo is the older of two sacristies of the basilica of san lorenzo in florence italyit is one of the most important monuments of the early italian renaissance architecture.

John the evangelist and the bronze doors. Giovanni di bicci de medici is buried in the old sacristy distinct from the sixteenth century new sacristy that was designed by michelangelo which means that this section of the basilica serves a dual purpose. Designed by filippo brunelleschi and paid for by the medici family who also used it for their tombs it set the tone for the development of a new style of. In the old sacristy of san lorenzo are 3 important characteristics.

This decoration carried out with bronzes and polychrome stuccos comprises two arched reliefs above the bronze doors of the altar wall. San lorenzo early renaissance style church designed by brunelleschi and constructed in florence from 1421 to the 1460s except for the facade which was left uncompleted. The sacristy of san lorenzo in florence by brunelleschi is referred to as the old sacristy the sagrestia vecchia in italian to distinguish it from the similarly shaped new sacristy also called the medici chapel designed by michelangelo a century later. Only the old sacristy finished in 1440 had been finished by the time of brunelleschis death in 1446.

In 1419 giovanni di bicci de medici offered to finance a new church to replace the 11th century romanesque rebuilding. Filippo brunelleschi the leading renaissance architect of the first half of the 15th century was commissioned to design it but the building with alterations was not completed until after his death. View looking up within the scarsella depicting the dome and upper window. The sacristy was designed as the funerary chapel of giovanni di averardo de medici.

It is decorated with terracotta roundels of cherubs by donatello who was responsible for much of the sacristys decoration ca. Also by brunelleschi is the old sacristy finished in 1428. The space came to be called the old sacristy after a new one was begun in 1510 on the other side of s. The old sacristy is considered to be the first accomplished cultural and artistic message of the early renaissance which alone is enough to rank the church on the list of must sees.

San lorenzo florence commentary brunelleschi designed the sacrestia vecchia old sacristy to distinguish it from the new one built in the sixteenth century in the same church by michelangelo as a cube surmounted by a hemispherical dome on pendentives a device he adapted from the byzantine practice of bridging the corners of the square to provide a circular base for the dome.