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 image of a life-sized Christ on a wooden crucifix was carved by Nicodemus, who witnessed the Crucifixion. In fact, it has recently been dated to the 13th century. A major object of pilgrimage, it’s carried in procession through the streets every 13 September at dusk during the Luminaria di Santa Croce, a solemn torch-lit procession marking its miraculous arrival in Lucca.

The cathedral’s many other artworks include a magnificent Last Supper by Tintoretto above the third altar of the south aisle; and the marble tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, a masterpiece of funerary sculpture, in the sacristy. Many more 15th- and 16th-century treasures from the cathedral are displayed in the adjacent Museo della Cattedrale.