Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore is one of Milan's oldest churches, with origins in the 4th century. Its broad interior and early Christian plan feel very different from the Gothic drama of the Duomo, and the surrounding piazza keeps a visible trace of Roman Milan.
The Colonne di San Lorenzo, a row of Roman columns standing outside the basilica, are part of the experience. Together with the nearby medieval Porta Ticinese, they make this one of the best places in central Milan to sense the city before the Renaissance and fashion capital eras took over the story.