Colonne di San Lorenzo

The Columns of San Lorenzo are a colonnade of sixteen Corinthian columns in Musso marble in front of Milan’s Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore. They are among the city’s most visible remains from antiquity and stand at the meeting point of the Roman and medieval city.

Why it matters

The columns preserve a fragment of Milan’s Roman past within a later urban setting. Their Antonine-era origin is associated with a major ancient building, while their medieval reassembly placed them before the Basilica of San Lorenzo. The colonnade and church together show how the city’s ancient materials were incorporated into its changing civic landscape.

What to notice

Sixteen Corinthian columns in Musso marble form the colonnade. An inscription associated with Lucius Verus and a copy of a statue of Constantine recall different periods of the site’s history. The columns’ present arrangement dates to their medieval reassembly, and their relationship to the Basilica of San Lorenzo makes the transition from Roman to Christian Milan visible in the urban fabric.

Context and history

The columns originated in the Antonine period as part of a larger Roman building. They were moved and reassembled in front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo during the eleventh or twelfth century. The colonnade survived as the surrounding neighbourhood changed, and today it remains a prominent trace of Roman Milan alongside the basilica.