In the Letter to Ricciardo Becchi dated 9 March 1498, one of the first direct documents of the life of the future Secretary of the Florentine Republic, Niccolò Machiavelli informed him of the activity of Friar Girolamo Savonarola. Machiavelli reported that, since it was unadvisable to preach in the Duomo - the most prestigious seat - for political reasons, Savonarola announced that he had decided not to do so "to avoid scandal and to serve the honour of God". He then arranged for the men to attend his sermon at San Marco, "and for the women to go to San Lorenzo to hear Fra Domenico". Machiavelli thus notes a diversity - for him, entirely natural - between preaching addressed to men and to women, in this case at the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

The Basilica of San Lorenzo, situated some hundred meters from Palazzo Medici Riccardi, is one of Florence's most ancient churches, having been first consecrated by St. Ambrose in 393, but then rebuilt in the Romanesque age. In 1418 the Medici - San Lorenzo was their church - commissioned Filippo Brunelleschi to remodel the ancient basilica. The work was completed only after his death by Antonio Manetti. On the outside, the facade of the basilica is faced in rough stone with three portals and an arched niche, while the right side is faced in smooth stone. The interior is striking for its harmonious serenity, deriving from the precise proportional relationships of Brunelleschi's project. The floor plan is a Latin cross, divided into three naves by two rows of Corinthian columns with high carved dosserets supporting rounded arches. Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned to design and build the inner facade, the balcony for displaying relics, the Laurentian Library, and the New Sacristy. The latter, and the Chapel of the Princes, are known as the Medici Chapels. Although the context was not lacking in prestige, it was deemed suitable for women to listen to sermons in a separate place.