Sometimes I think that the worst thing about traveling is not stepping on mines, but having no feeling for a place at all - after taking pictures and reading the description, you still don't know what you've just seen. But this is not the case with the Basilica of San Lorenzo. It will not be the kind of attraction that you can “check in and leave”, its charm has to rely on you to walk in, sit down, or even look up and stare for a while, and then slowly revealed. After seeing it, I just want to say one thing: if you come to Lugano without coming here, you will really miss the soul corner of a city.
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Standing in an alleyway in Lugano's old town, you can look up and see the bell tower of the Basilica of San Lorenzo peeking out. It's a little understated, not the kind of building that shocks you from afar, but it's there, like a witness to the old city, having seen wars, heard prayers, and grown up with the city.
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The Cathedral of San Lorenzo was first built in the 9th century, and it didn't really start out as it is now. It has been renovated and rebuilt many times, and the exterior you see today is a mixture of Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance styles, but with a different flavor.
The front façade of the church is in the Renaissance style, with detailed and exquisite marble carvings, and the statue of the Virgin and Child in the center has so many details that you can look at it for half a day without getting tired of it. In case you didn't know, the facade was added later in the 1490s - and the carvings were done by hand, using local Swiss marble, which is still fairly well preserved.
The sound of the bells in the clock tower is a special presence: it's not a “shocking” sound, but more like the city speaking softly to you. It is recommended to sit down at a café with a view of the clock tower at full time, and listen to the bells ringing as the time becomes gentler.
To be honest, at the beginning, my expectation of this kind of ancient church is: look at the façade, go inside and it's just stone pillars, colorful windows and pews.
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The interior of this church is not particularly large, but the structure is cleverly designed, and the light treatment is very comfortable. Especially when the sun shines in around 12 noon, the stained glass windows cast a rainbow of colors on the walls, and when you stand under that light, you'll be in a trance, as if you've suddenly traveled into a medieval European movie.
Highlight these spots:
Stained Glass Windows: not just decorative, those images actually have a story, including the Virgin Mary's conception, Christ's ascension and so on, and a look around is like reading a condensed Bible storybook. If you don't know much about religion, it doesn't matter, it's worth it for the purely visual experience.
High Altar: It's not that kind of gilded pomp and circumstance, but has a kind of calm, solemn beauty. The décor isn't complicated, but the colors are very restrained, so you can tell there's a lot of care behind it. You can notice the oil paintings, all of which were left by 17th century painters and are still in good condition.
Side Chapels: Many people come in to see the main sanctuary, but there are actually small altars and frescoes on each side, so it's not too crowded, and it's a bit of a “surprise”. In one of the chapels, I found a very old tombstone with a date from the 16th century, which gave me goosebumps.
I'm a “slow walker” and don't really like to go through the sights, so this route is the smoothest, least laborious, and easiest to take good photos of:
Best time to visit: before 10am or after 4pm
These two times are the least crowded, and the light is good, especially on the east side of the church, where you can see the slanting sunlight pouring in, which is super beautiful.
When you enter the church, don't go straight to the main nave.
Go to the right hand side to walk a small corner, is a small corridor leading to the side hall, there is a small window, but the light is just enough to see the wall of the old frescoes and carvings, there is absolutely no one, I shot a few close-ups there very out of the film.
Photo highlights:
The sloping steps outside the church: stand below to get the best view of the whole church + bell tower!
Inside the colorful windows: use the wide-angle mode of your cell phone to shoot from the nave to the windows, you can capture the effect of the whole light and shadow pouring down.
The stone carvings at the entrance: there are many details, use macro to shoot the carvings, the texture is great!
Recommended time: 40 minutes ~ 1 hour
Too fast will miss a lot of details, too long is not really necessary. You can sit in the middle of the bench to take a break, listen to the people around the whisper or the sound of bells, a kind of back to the old Europe illusion.
Well, said so much, and finally have to return to some practical information, after all, we came to travel, not archaeology!
Tickets:
Free admission! (Yes, that's right, there's no admission fee at all.) But if you want to go up to the bell tower, you'll need to pay a small amount of money on the spot, which is about 5 Swiss francs (depending on the opening hours).
Opening hours:
Generally open from 9am to 6pm every day, but it sometimes closes between 12pm and 2pm, so we recommend avoiding this period.
How to get there:
If you get off at Lugano train station, it's about an 8-minute walk to the church. It's also easy to navigate through the alleyways of the old town, which you can find on Google Maps by searching for “Cathedral of San Lorenzo Lugano”.
It's a good idea to combine this with a visit to the surrounding area:
Walk 5 minutes downhill from the church to Lake Lugano, and take a relaxing walk or have a coffee by the lake.
The Museo Cantonale d'Arte next to the church is also worth a visit for those who like art.
If you're not in a hurry, you can also walk to Parco Ciani, Lugano's most beautiful lakeside park, which is a great way to wrap up a full day!
Not every church leaves an impression, but the Basilica of San Lorenzo really does plant a seed in your heart - maybe it's that light through the stained windows, maybe it's the mottled time marks on the stone walls, or maybe it's just one of those moments when you're sitting in awe. Traveling is not all about excitement and wonder, but also about spending quiet time together and taking your time. And this is a good place for you to “stop”. Don't be in a hurry, this kind of place is worth staying for 10 minutes more.
