San Lorenzo in Panisperna, Renaissance church on Via Panisperna, Rome, Italy

San Lorenzo in Panisperna is a Renaissance church in Rome featuring a single central nave with three side chapels on each wall. The interior displays religious artworks in a straightforward layout that guides the visitor's eye forward.

Tradition links the first church to the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence and to a Constantinian-era foundation, but the first documented church was built by Pope Formosus in the 9th century. Pope Boniface VIII rebuilt it around 1300 and annexed an abbey, which passed to the Benedictines in 1451 and later to the Poor Clares. Cardinal Guglielmo Sirleto had the church rebuilt from the foundations between 1565 and 1574; Carlo Rainaldi completed a further rebuilding in 1575–6 under Gregory XIII, when the name changed from "in Formoso" to "in Panisperna".

The name Panisperna comes from the Poor Clares' custom of distributing "panis et perna", bread and ham, on 10 August, the feast of Saint Lawrence. Saint Bridget of Sweden begged for alms for the poor outside the church and prayed before its 14th-century crucifix; her chapel holds the painting of her praying by Giuseppe Montesanti (1757).

The church sits on Via Panisperna and is accessible by foot in this part of Rome, making it easy to visit as part of a neighborhood walk. Religious services follow the Catholic calendar, so checking ahead helps you plan your visit around active worship times.

The church preserves an ancient brick oven structure traditionally linked to the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence in early Christian history. This physical remnant connects the medieval building directly to Rome's oldest religious events.