San Michele in Foro

Last updated
San Michele in Foro Lucca San Michele in Foro 01.jpg
San Michele in Foro
A close up of the front facade LuccaPillars.jpg
A close up of the front facade

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

Contents

History

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 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.

Amongst the artworks in the interior, are a Madonna with Child terracotta by Luca della Robbia and a panel with Four Saints by Filippino Lippi.

See also

Coordinates: 43°50′35″N10°30′10″E / 43.84306°N 10.50278°E / 43.84306; 10.50278

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piazza dei Miracoli</span> Historic architectural complex and UNESCO World Heritage site in Pisa, Italy

The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo, is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important centre of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner, the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale. Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, which houses the Sinopias Museum and the Cathedral Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strasbourg Cathedral</span> Cathedral located in Bas-Rhin, in France

Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. Architect Erwin von Steinbach is credited for major contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318, and beyond through his son Johannes von Steinbach, and his grandson Gerlach von Steinbach, who succeeded him as chief architects. The Steinbachs's plans for the completion of the cathedral were not followed through by the chief architects who took over after them, and instead of the originally envisioned two spires, a single, octagonal tower with an elongated, octagonal crowning was built on the northern side of the west facade by master Ulrich von Ensingen and his successor, Johannes Hültz. The construction of the cathedral, which had started in the year 1015 and had been relaunched in 1190, was finished in 1439.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiens Cathedral</span> Church in Amiens, France

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens, or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 kilometres north of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santi Apostoli, Florence</span> Roman Catholic church in Florence, Italy

The Church of Santi Apostoli is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church in the historic center of Florence, in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is among the oldest church buildings in Florence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Étienne-du-Mont</span> Church in Paris, France

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine. Jean-Paul Marat is buried in the church's cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Michael's Church, Munich</span> Church in Bavaria, Germany

St. Michael's is a Jesuit church in Munich, southern Germany, the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps. The style of the building had an enormous influence on Southern German early Baroque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Évora</span>

The Cathedral of Évora is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Évora, Portugal. It is one of the oldest and most important local monuments, lying on the highest spot of the city. It is part of the historical city centre, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Evora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua</span> Church in Veneto, Italy

The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua is a Catholic church and minor basilica in Padua, Veneto, Northern Italy, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church (Chicago)</span> Church in Illinois, USA

St. Michael is a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The current church is located at E. 83rd Street and S. South Shore Drive in South Chicago, a neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Michele in Borgo</span>

San Michele in Borgo is a Roman Catholic church in Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria presso San Celso</span>

Santa Maria dei Miracoli presso San Celso is a church and a sanctuary in Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Puy Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Haute-Loire, in France

Le Puy Cathedral, sometimes referred to as the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady, is a Roman Catholic church located in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne, France. The cathedral is a national monument. It has been a centre of pilgrimage in its own right since before the time of Charlemagne, as well as forming part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Since 1998 it has been part of a multi-location UNESCO World Heritage Site along France's Santiago pilgrimage routes. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Puy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massa Marittima Cathedral</span>

Massa Marittima Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, Italy, dedicated to Saint Cerbonius. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Massa Marittima, it is now that of the Diocese of Massa Marittima-Piombino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santi Giovanni ed Ermolao, Calci</span>

Saints John and Ermolao, or Pieve di Santi Giovanni ed Ermolao is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic parish church, located in La Pieve, Calci, some 10 km outside Pisa, region of Tuscany, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reims Cathedral</span> Church and episcopal seat in Reims, France

Notre-Dame de Reims, , is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the archiepiscopal see of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Michele Arcangelo, Volterra</span>

San Michele Arcangelo is a 13th-century Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church in Volterra, region of Tuscany, Italy. The church is across the street from the Medieval Palazzo Maffei-Guarnacci.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo, Solofra</span>

The Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo, translated as Collegiate Church of St Michael Archangel, is a richly decorated, Baroque style, Roman Catholic church in Solofra, Province of Avellino, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Michele a Rovezzano</span>

San Michele Arcangelo a Rovezzano is a Roman Catholic parish church located on Via Di S Michele A Rovezzano #4, in Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Michele, Cameri</span>

San Michele, locally called in dialect, Gésa Granda, is the Roman Catholic parish church located in the city center at Piazza Dante Alighieri in the town Cameri, province of Novara, Piedmont, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macerata Cathedral</span>

Macerata Cathedral is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the St Julian in the town of Macerata, province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy.