San Lorenzo in Panisperna

Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Panisperna Church of St. Lawrence in Panisperna (English) S. Laurentii in Panisperna (Latin)
Basic information
Location	Rome, Italy
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Lazio
Province	Rome
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Titular church
Leadership	Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu
Architectural type	Church

Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Panisperna or simply San Lorenzo in Panisperna is a Roman Catholic church on Via Panisperna, Rome, central Italy. It was previously known as "San Lorenzo in Formoso". It was erected on the site of its dedicatee's martyrdom. It is one of several churches in Rome dedicated to him.

"Panisperna" most probably refers to the tradition of the Poor Clares of the adjacent convent distributing bread and ham, "pane e perna" on 10 August, the Feast of St. Lawrence, in remembrance of his distribution of funds of the Church to the poor. The previous name of the church "in Formoso" referred to Pope Formosus who erected the first attested church on its site.

Tradition states that the first edifice on the site was constructed during the reign of Emperor Constantine I, only 100 years after the martyrdom of St. Lawrence. In the fifth century, this church was one of the Stational Churches of Rome that the Pope visited on its titular day: the Thursday of the first week in Lent. Recent popes have revived this ancient custom. The first written evidence of an ecclesiastical edifice on the site is from 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII rebuilt the church and annexed an abbey to it. That abbey was given to the Benedictines in 1451 and later hosted the Poor Clares. They were removed in February 1872 as part of the confiscations of the new Italian government, but were restored through the efforts of Cardinal Jacopo Colonna in 1896, who also restored the church and abbey. The Franciscans presently serve the church.

The present church is the result of a rebuilding by Carlo Rainaldi in 1575-6 under Pope Gregory XIII. At this time it became denominated "in Panisperna", rather than "in Formoso", and its present facade was constructed. A new, outer portico was added in the 17th century, then restored and decorated with images of St. Lawrence and St. Francis of Assisi in 1893-4 by Pope Leo XIII, who in 1843 had been ordained bishop in the church. Pope Leo XIII also constructed a steep flight of steps in front of the church that led to a tree-lined courtyard. A modern, bronze statue of St. Bridget of Sweden adorns this courtyard.

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