Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music • University of Hawaii, Leeward
Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music • University of Hawaii, Leeward
Photo by Peter Kun Frary • Canon EOS 40D and EF-s 17-55 2.8 IS USM • Next Image
The doors to the nave of the Basilica di San Lorenzo ain't no Gates of Paradise, but the steel bars make them seem important!
San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches in Florence and the burial place of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is also among the the oldest churches in Florence, having been consecrated in 1393. It wasn't much from the outside--appeared rough and unfinished--but the interior was magnificent. When I arrived, tourists were being shooed away as mass was about to begin. I really wanted to see the nave so I made the sign of the cross and shuffled into the mass. Of course photography was not permitted, so I have only my foggy memories. The acoustics were obviously designed for unamplified human vocalization and the use of a powerful PA system resulted in an eardrum splitting cacophony. I suspect the acoustics would lend themselves beautifully to unamplified Medieval and Renaissance music.
Like many churches in Europe, San Lorenzo was more of a graveyard than a house of worship. I am certain there were more dead members of the Medici family in attendance than parishioners!
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