Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore, Milan

One of the oldest churches in Milan, this basilica was founded in the late Roman era and preserves a rare centrally planned form beneath its later dome. In front of it stands a row of sixteen Corinthian columns, salvaged from a Roman building and re-erected here as a monumental colonnade. The attached Chapel of Sant'Aquilino retains early Christian mosaics of exceptional quality. The grassy square before the church, watched over by a bronze statue of Constantine, is a popular gathering place on warm evenings.