Lucca Cathedral () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours in

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca.

History

Old Cathedral

A church was built on the site in the 6th centuryCarlo Biscotti,
Notizie sommarie riguardanti le chiese, i benefizj ed il clero della archidiocesi di Lucca
'' , (Lucca: dalla tipografia Giusti, 1853), pp. 45-46. Cappelletti XV, pp. 543-548. and at the beginning of the 8th century, the seat of the bishop was transferred from the church of San Reparto to the current site. The most precious relic in Lucca, the Holy Face of Lucca according to legend carved by a contemporary of Jesus and through a series of miraculous events arrived in the church in 782.

Construction of the current Cathedral

Construction of the current cathedral was begun in 1060 by Bishop Anselm (who would later become Pope Alexander II). It was consecrated by Pope Alexander in 1070. A west west front was begun in 1204 by Guido Bigarelli of Como. The nave and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 14th century.

Cathedral Chapter

The cathedral was run by a

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

, composed of four dignities (Archpriest, Archdeacon, Primicerius, and Abbot) and fourteen canons, two of whom served as the Theologus (preacher) and Penitentiary. They enjoyed the privilege of using the mitre and a gold pectoral cross. The chapter at times chose the bishop, as for example in 1225 when they chose a cathedral canon, Riccardus, by lot. The election was confirmed by Pope Honorius III despite his displeasure at the use of the lot.P. Pressutti, ''Regesta Honorii Papae III,'' , Tomus II (Romae: Typographia Vaticana 1895), p. 375, no. 5680. Eubel I, p. 313. From 1077 another bishop, the younger Anselm of Lucca attempted to impose the

Rule of Saint Augustine The Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church. The rule, develop ...

upon the chapter which they mostly refused despite a Papal interdict. This ended when Anselm was expelled from Lucca around 1080."St Anselm of Lucca", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', 2nd ed. (E.A. Livingstone, ed.) 2006, OUP,

Description

Of the original structure, the great

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

with its tall columnar arcades and the fine

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

remain. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and transepts are 14th century Gothic, while the west front consists of a vast portico of three magnificent arches, and above them three ranges of open galleries adorned with sculptures. In the

a small octagonal chapel shrine contains the Holy Face of Lucca. The chapel was built in 1484 by Matteo Civitali, the most famous Luccese sculptor of the early Renaissance. Additionally the cathedral contains Domenico Ghirlandaio's ''Madonna and Child with Saints Peter, Clement, Paul and Sebastian''; Federico Zuccari's ''Adoration of the Magi'', Jacopo Tintoretto's ''Last Supper'', and finally

Fra Bartolomeo Fra Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo (, , ; 28 March 1472 – 31 October 1517), also known as Bartolommeo di Pagholo, Bartolommeo di San Marco, Bartolomeo di Paolo di Jacopo del Fattorino, and his original nickname Baccio della Porta, was an Ital ...

's ''Madonna and Child'' (1509). There is a legend to explain why all the columns of the façade are different. According to the tale, when they were going to decorate it, the inhabitants of Lucca announced a contest for the best column. Every artist made a column, but then the inhabitants of Lucca decided to take them all, without paying the artists and used all the columns.

Labyrinth

The labyrinth is embedded in the right pier of the portico and is believed to date from the 12th or 13th century. Its importance is that it may well pre-date the famous

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

labyrinth, yet is of the Chartres pattern that became a standard for labyrinths. The rustic incised Latin inscription refers to ancient pagan mythology: "This is the labyrinth built by Dedalus of Crete; all who entered therein were lost, save Theseus, thanks to Ariadne's thread" (HIC QUEM CRETICUS EDIT. DAEDALUS EST LABERINTHUS . DE QUO NULLUS VADERE . QUIVIT QUI FUIT INTUS . NI THESEUS GRATIS ADRIANE . STAMINE JUTUS").

Burials

* Adalbert II of Tuscany * Bertha, daughter of Lothair II * Ilaria del Carretto

Gallery

File:Volto Santo de Lucca.JPG, ''Volto Santo'' File:Artista lombardo-lucchese, san martino a cavallo e il povero, 1200-10 circa 02.JPG, Saint Martin and the beggar, ca 1200 File:Lucca, cattedrale di San Martino (119).jpg, Jacopo della Quercia, Funerary monument of Ilaria del Carretto File:Domenico ghirlandaio, sacra conversazione di lucca, 1479, 02.JPG, Domenico Ghirlandaio, ''Sacra Conversazione'', 1479 File:Jacopo tintoretto, ultima cena, 1592-94, 01.JPG, Jacopo Tintoretto, ''The Last Supper'' Image:Duomo Lucca cathedrale Lucques labyrinthe.jpg, Labyrinth on the portico of the cathedral Image:Lucca Cathedral interior and ceiling 01.jpg, Interior and ceiling as seen from the main entrance File:Cloches du campanile de la cathédrale Saint Martin de Lucques.jpg, Bells in the campanile File:Cloche campanile cathedrale lucca italie 20200127.ogg, Sound of the bell at the top of the campanile at twelve o'clock

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links

HD 360° Panoramic interactive photos
of the Cathedral Square by Hans von Weissenfluh for Tuscany tourism promotion official website.
{{Authority control

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Cathedrals in Tuscany Romanesque architecture in Lucca Lucca Cathedral House of Boniface Burial sites of Italian noble families