Exterior high angle view of the Cathedral of San Martino St Martin in Lucca Tuscany Italy
Dedicated to Saint Martin, it was begun in the 12th century and completed, three hundred years later, in the 15th century. In spite of the amount of work and time that was invested, the facade remains unfinished, lacking the top row of loggias and the tympanum. It is also wonderfully asymmetric, in that the right portal is smaller than its neigbours, as the builders had to take into account the pre-existing campanile. The facade is carved with the most intricate details. On the column nearest the bell tower there is a male figure holding a scroll, which is inscribed with the name of the man who sculpted much of the facade, Guidetto da Como, and the date, 1204. The interior of the cathedral is best known for the Tempietto, the little temple, by Matteo Civitali, a local artist who made an interesting career shift in his mid-thirties when he gave up his job as a barber to become a sculptor. The Tempietto contains the Volto Santo, Lucca's most prized relic.
Size: 3410px × 5125px
Location: Via Duomo, Lucca, Tuscany, Toscana, Italy, Italia, Europe
Photo credit: © Paul Sampson / Travel / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, apse, arcade, arched, architecture, bell, capital, cathedral, catholic, christianity, church, city, detail, duomo, element, europe, face, front, gate, gothic, high, history, holiday, horizontal, italy, lucca, martin, martino, saint, san, sky, st, tower, tuscany
