St. Lawrence's Church, with its new-gothic layout, faces the piazza Masaccio, a square of remarkable touristic and cultural interest. It existed before the foundation of Castel San Giovanni and was modified several times. It was finally restored starting in the second half of the 19th century.
It has two entrances, both on the piazza Masaccio.
While there are a few stairs to the main entrance, the right entrance is equipped with a ramp for disabled persons. The extremely simple exterior is made in sandstone from the base to the portal lintel, while the upper part was made in bricks and stones. Over the portal are visible a pointed lunette, a circular and a rhomboid window. On the left side, crowned by very slightly protruding hanging arcades, there are three single pane windows, while down to the right is visible a stoney tabernacle from 1943 which formerly contained Masaccio's portrait. The interior has two naves, a median one and a right, smaller one, both covered by cross vaults. In a wall niche of the smaller nave there is a 1919 baptismal font. The presbytery contains a polyptych by Giovanni del Biondo representing the Crowning of the Virgin. The frescoes, only partly preserved, are mostly attributed to Scheggia, Masaccio's brother.
The remaining frescoes are attributed to Mariotto di Nardo. We should finally mention that in a niche right of the main portal there is a mummy, known at San Giovanni as the "uomo murato" (the "immured man"), as it was discovered entombed in a pillar of the building in 1780. The mummy, although protected by glass and a shutter, is getting increasingly pulverized.




Sito realizzato da Giovanni Rosi e Mario Baldini - ultimo aggiornamento 06/06/2001