Religious, Spiritual sights in Lucca
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A
Basilica di San Frediano
The facade of the Basilica di San Frediano has a unique (and much-restored) 13th-century mosaic in a markedly Byzantine style. The main feature of the beautiful basilica’s interior is the Fontana Lustrale, a 12th-century baptismal font decorated with sculpted reliefs, just to the right as you enter. Note, too, the fine capitals, many recycled from the nearby Roman amphitheatre.
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B
Cattedrale di San Martino
Lucca’s mainly Romanesque Cattedrale di San Martino, dedicated to San Martino, dates to the 11th century. The exquisite facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and designed to accommodate the pre-existing campanile. Each of the multitude of columns in its upper part is different. The reliefs over the left doorway of the portico are believed to be by Nicola Pisano.
The interior was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries with a Gothic flourish. Lucca-born sculptor and architect Matteo Civitali designed both the pulpit and the 15th-century tempietto (small temple) in the north aisle that contains the Volto Santo. Legend has it that this simply fashioned …
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C
Chiesa di San Michele in Foro
This dazzling Romanesque church was built on the site of its 8th-century precursor over a period of nearly 300 years, beginning in the 11th century. The exquisite wedding-cake facade is topped by a figure of the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon. Inside, don’t miss Filippino Lippi’s 1479 painting of Sts Helen, Jerome, Sebastian and Roch (complete with plague sore) in the south transept.
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