Lucca Cathedral

Cathedral of Saint Martin
Cattedrale di San Martino
Cathedral of Saint Martin; Cattedrale di San Martino
District	Archdiocese of Lucca
Rite	Roman
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Location
Location	Lucca, Italy
	Shown within Italy
Geographic coordinates	43°50′26.5″N 10°30′21″E / 43.840694°N 10.50583°E
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Gothic, Romanesque

Lucca Cathedral (

Archbishop of Lucca. Construction was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm (later Pope Alexander II

).

Description

Of the original structure, the great

campanile remain. The nave and transepts of the cathedral were rebuilt in the Gothic

style in the 14th century, while the west front was begun in 1204 by Guido Bigarelli of Como, and consists of a vast portico of three magnificent arches, and above them three ranges of open galleries adorned with sculptures.

In the nave a small octagonal temple or chapel shrine contains the most precious relic in Lucca, the Holy Face of Lucca (Italian: Volto Santo di Lucca) or Sacred Countenance. This cedar-wood crucifix and image of Christ, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, and miraculously conveyed to Lucca in 782. Christ is clothed in the colobium, a long sleeveless garment. The chapel was built in 1484 by Matteo Civitali, the most famous Luccan sculptor of the early Renaissance.

The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia of Siena, the earliest of his extant works was commissioned by her husband, the lord of Lucca, Paolo Guinigi, in 1406.

Additionally the cathedral contains

Jacopo Tintoretto's Last Supper, and finally Fra Bartolomeo

'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 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").