Matthew 25:35

Located in the Rione Colonna, San Lorenzo in Lucina is one of the oldest churches in Rome. The building stands on a domus, probably owned by Lucina, a wealthy Roman matron who allegedly founded an “ecclesia domestica”, a place for worship inside a private house.

A second theory connects the name of the basilica to an ancient temple dedicated to Juno Lucina, the patron goddess of childbirth: it was tradition that the women of ancient Rome drew “miraculous” water from the temple, a custom which is confirmed by the discovery of a well (still visible today in the basement) and a mosaic floor with black and white tiles, still intact, with white marble steps and frescoed walls.

Consecrated as a place of worship in 440 by Pope Sixtus III, the church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 12th century by Pope Paschal II. Even today, you can admire the elegant portico punctuated by six Ionic granite columns, inside which are a series of ancient inscriptions, the two marble lions on either side of the entrance, and the bell tower with five orders, two floors of single lancet windows and three of mullioned windows.