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San Michele in Foro
San Michele in Foro, Lucca
Travel guide for Tuscany
       
   

Lucca | San Michele in Foro

   
   

San Michele in Foro is a Roman Catholic basilica church in Lucca, built over the ancient Roman forum. The San Michele in Foro Church is situated at the Piazza San Michele. Until 1370 it was the seat of the Consiglio Maggiore (Major Council), the commune's most important assembly. It is dedicated to Archangel Michael.

Construction of the church began in the 11th century, the campanile was completed in the 12th century, and finally the Romanesque facade was added in the 13th century. The church is mentioned for the first time in 795 as ad foro (in the forum). It was rebuilt after 1070 by will of Pope Alexander II.

Notable is the façade, from the 13th century, with a large series of sculptures and inlays, numerous of which remade in the 19th century. The columns in the facade are all different. The lower part has a series of blind arcades, the central of which includes the main portal. The upper part, built using plenty of iron materials to counter wind, has four orders of small loggias. On the summit, flanked by two other angels, is the 4 m-tall statue of St. Michael the Archangel. According to a legend, an angel's finger would have a huge diamond. On the lower right corner of the façade is a statue (1480) of the Madonna salutis portus, sculpted by Matteo Civitali to celebrate the end of the 1476 plague.

The church interior has a nave and two aisles with transept and semicircular apse; the nave is supported by arcades on monolithic columns. From the southern transept rises the bell tower, built in the 12th-14th centuries, with a series of single, double and triple mullioned windows. The last floor was demolished during the rule of Giovanni dell'Agnello (1364-1368), Doge of Pisa.



 

The Church of San Michele in Foro, Lucca

The Church of San Michele in Foro, Lucca

   
   

Lucca | San Michele in Foro | Images



The indisputed highlight of San Michele in Foro is its magnificent marble facade, one of the finest examples of the Pisan Romanesque style.

 

Lucca San Michele 7


the pillars of the front facade of the San Michele in Foro church in Lucca

Lucca, the pillars of the front facade of the San Michele in Foro church (photo Massimo Catarinella)
The columns in the facade are all different

 

     

 

     

Lucca, particolare di San Michele in Foro - panoramio

On the summit, flanked by two other angels, is the 4 m-tall statue of St. Michael the Archangel. Legend has it that as long as St. Michael stays on top of the church, Lucca is safe.
The wings of the angel statue on top of the facade are flexible to survive the wind

 

     

Lucca San Michele 4

Lucca, San Michele in Foro

     

 

 
 
   
Orvieto, Duomo
 
Siena, Duomo
 
Florence, Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore


 


Podere Santa Pia is a beautiful farmhouse that dominates one of the most beautiful setting that nature can offer, the countryside in the Tuscan Maremma. The most interesting artistic, historical and cultural sites of southern Tuscany are nearby, and are awaiting your discovery.

Hidden secrets in Tuscany | Tuscan Holiday houses | Podere Santa Pia

 

Podere Santa Pia, with a stunning view over the Maremma and Montecristo


 
 
   
Podere Santa Pia
Podere Santa Pia, garden
Montecristo, view from Santa Pia

 

   
Pisa
Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence
Monte Oliveto Maggiore abbey
         
         

This page uses material from the Wikipedia article San Michele in Foro

and Pisa, published under the GNU Free Documentation License, and from a leaflet "A brief story of the origins of the Basilica, its architecture, murals and traditions", Propositura di San Pietro Apostolo - San Piero a Grado - Pisa.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pisa and San Piero a Grado basilica.