Photos of the Romanesque Lucca Cathedral Architecture & Art

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Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Romanesque Lucca Cathedral Architecture & Art. The Duomo di Lucca or Cattedrale di San Martino. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Romanesque Lucca Cathedral Architecture & Art Pisan Tuscan Romanesque

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Photos of Lucca Cathedral of St Martin (Duomo di Lucca or Cattedrale di San Martino), Tuscany, Italy.

Lucca Cathedral of St Martin

The Romanesque Cathedral of St Martin was built between 1060 & 1070 by Pope Alexander II, who was Bishop Anselm of Lucca until 1061. It replaced the 6th century early Primitive Christian church of cathedral of Santa Reparata. Of the old Romanesque church only the Apse, Campanile and facade remain in the Romanesque style. The rest of the cathedral was rebuilt in the 14th century in Gothic style.

Facade of the Lucca Cathedral of St Martin

The facade of the Lucca Cathedral of St Martin remains a fine example of Pisan Tuscan Romanesque architecture built in 1204 by Guido di Bigarelli of Como (1220– 1257). It consists of a vast portico of three magnificent arches, and above them three ranges of open galleries adorned with reliefs & sculptures.

The sculptures that decorate the facade and in particular the lintel of the main portal depict the two symbols of the evangelists. Three Romanesque arches lead to a portico with the main door on either side of which are relief sculptures depicting the Life of St Martin and the monthly Labours of the Year.

Above these arches are 3 rows of typical Pisan Tuscan Romanesque open gallery style arcades which are fronted by rows or rounded arches supported by small historiated or decorated columns. Between the rows of arcades are green marble inlays of mythical animals and foliage in green marble against a white marble background.

It is a legend in Lucca that each of the columns of the arcade are different as a result of a competition for the best columns. This saw all the best masonry workshops of Lucca compete to have the honour of producing a column for the Duomo. It couldn’t be decided who had produced the best column so all of the entries were incorporated into the facade .

The overall effect of the design of the facade of San Michele is of three dimensional flamboyant architecture. This became the trade mark of Tuscan Romanesque decoration and has been made famous by its use in the Leaning Tower and Duomo of Pisa.

Sculpted on a pier of the Portico is a Labyrinth or maze that dates from the 12th century. It is meant to represent the Labyrinth of Minos on the Island of Crete in which the Minotaur lived. The inscription on the Lucca Labyrinth reads “This is the labyrinth built by Daedalus of Crete; all who entered therein were lost, save Theseus, thanks to Ariadne’s thread”