Italia Lucca 5 Romanesque beauty

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Lucca
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Romanesque Beauty
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Lucca Cathedral was consecrated in 1070 by Pope
Alexander II, formerly the Bishop of Lucca. The
impetus for replacing the smaller Church of St.
Martin with a grand cathedral is traditionally
the arrival of the miraculous Volto Santo (Holy
Face of Lucca). The west facade was decorated in
1204 and the portico in 1233, and the interior
was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries
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Saint Martin columns
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Of the original structure, the great apse with
its tall columnar arcades and the fine 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 Guidetto Bigarelli of Como, and consists of a
vast portico of three magnificent arches, and
above them three ranges of open galleries adorned
with sculptures.
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The Duomo di San Martino in Lucca is a beautiful
marble cathedral with magnificent Romanesque
sculptures on its facade and a much-revered
crucifix (the Volto Santo) sheltered inside.
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Beautifully carved and detailed columns flanking
the entrance to the San Martino Cathedral
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The ornamental carvings and the capitals of
Romanesque art are developments from the
Byzantine. Where columns were employed the cube
capital is common. For the pier capitals new
forms were invented or evolved. The introduction
of grotesque forms of animals or men in these
ornaments is peculiar to this period, as distinct
from the one which preceded. These grotesques
represent the fantastic and original spirit of
the Germanic North as contrasted with the more
sedate Byzantine dependence on earlier classic
designs
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The Lucca Cathedral and many other churches of
Tuscany are later variants of the Pisa Cathedral
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Bishop Frediano commissioned the building of the
church of San Martino in the 6th century and the
edifice advanced to the status of cathedral in
the 8th century. Another bishop of Lucca (and
Pope Alexander II) rebuilt it a couple of
centuries apart.
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On the latter version, Guidetto da Como created
its façade a series of loggias resting on
pillars and an atrium packed with bas-reliefs
(1233) depicting the four stories of St Martin,
the dispute with the Aryans and the Martyrdom of
San Regolo.
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The sculptural decoration inside the portico was
begun in 1233 and uses pink, green and white
marble to magnificent effect. The walls between
the portals contain more bas-reliefs under small
blind arcades, some badly weathered.
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These are the work of the facade's master
sculptor, Guidetto da Como, in the early 13th
century. The subjects depicted here are the
Labors of the Months and the life of St. Martin.
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The word "Romanesque" does not, as sometimes
supposed, refer to a debased and degraded Roman
style adopted by the Middle Ages, but rather
specifies the two traits of Roman architecture
which were reemployed at this time, viz., the
pier and the vaulting arch. All the great
Romanesque cathedrals of North Continental Europe
use this construction and are distinguished by it
from the earlier basilicas with timber roofs and
with columns supporting the arches of the nave
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The porch is decorated with the tasks of the 12
months of the year, from giving a girl roses to
slaughtering a pig
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Each of the three portals is topped with
bas-reliefs on the architrave and in the
tympanum. Over the central portal, the tympanum
depicts the Ascension of Christ, with the Virgin
and Apostles on the architrave below.
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The left tympanum illustrates the Deposition from
the Cross, while its architrave squeezes in the
Annunciation, Nativity and Adoration of the Magi.
These are thought to be early works of famed
sculptor Nicola Pisano.
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Deposizione (lunette) portale del Duomo di
Lucca by Nicola Pisano Before 1260
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Nativity/Adoration of the Magi (architrave) by
Nicola Pisano
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The right portal's tympanum shows the Beheading
of St. Regulus at the hands of the Goths. Below
this in the architrave is the Meeting of St.
Martin with the Arians.
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This is one of the most visually stunning
churches in all of Italy. When the Bishop of
Lucca, Anselm, began construction of the building
in 1063, little could he have known (even after
becoming Pope Alexander II) that the church would
appear as it does today. There are three levels
of colonnaded façade. Thirty-seven individually
unique columns support the levels above the
portico entrance of the cathedral.
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On September 13th each year, the entire walled
city is lit only by candles as a procession
honors the Volto Santo. The sculpture, heavily
adorned with priceless jewels, was carried
through the city. To protect the aging wood, the
sculpture now remains in the chapel. The jeweled
decoration remains throughout the period of the
festival.
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The marble figure of Ilaria del Carretto  is
Lucca's greatest monument. Ilaria, the 26
year-old wife of nobleman Paolo Guinigi, died in
childbirth at the beginning of the 15th century.
Jacopo della Quercia's earliest undisputed work,
the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca, reveals
an extremely sensitive style which is still
firmly embedded in the late courtois tradition.
The beautiful young woman seems to have fallen
asleep on a cushion. At her feet is an alert
lapdog, a symbol of fidelity. The plaster cast
can be seen in Victoria Albert Museum

Presenter Notes
Ilaria del Carretto, who died at aged twenty-six
after giving birth to her second child in 1405,
was the second wife of Paolo Guinigi, the local
merchant tyrant in Lucca. Ilaria was from an old
and noble family who came from Zuccarello in the
province of Savona in Liguria.Jacopo barely had
time to finish it in 1407 before Guinigi married
againIlaria is actually buried, and always has
been, in the Guinigi chapel of Santa Lucia in San
Francesco Paolo Guinigi had the tomb placed in
the cathedral just to show off what he could
buy.What remains of Jacopos work is a
sarcophagus and an effigy.

A dog, symbol of fidelity and in particular
marital fidelity, looks up expectantly at his
mistress from her feet. Ilaria seems to be
sleeping with her hands over her swollen abdomen
to remind us of the cause of her death.His use
of several nude putti at the flanks of the tomb
clearly shows the classical influence of the
Roman sarcophagi at Camposanto (Pisa). This is a
first, a harbinger of the incipient
Renaissance.The work was eulogised by
Ruskin.Recently in 1990 it was restored. The
noted art historian Professor James Beck
criticised the restoration which removed the
ancient yellow patina. This led to four actions
of criminal libel being brought against him which
he successfully defended. As a result, he founded
the organisation "Artwatch" which amongst other
things campaigns against ill thought out
restorations of ancient art works.

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Presenter Notes
The tomb was first attributed to Jacopo della
Quercia by Vasari in 1550, and he also identified
the subject as Ilaria del Carretto (d. December
1405), wife of Paolo Guinigi, the wealthy
merchant and ruler of Lucca. He records that
following the expulsion of Paolo Guinigi from
Lucca in 1429, the tomb was removed from the
Guinigi chapel and destroyed except the effigy
and sarcophagus, which are all that remain of
this monument. Since this cast was made, in 1899,
the coat of arms of the Guinigi family quartered
with those of Ilaria del Carretto has been
removed, in 1911, and restored to the head of the
sarcophagus. Some of the plinth with swags on the
side of this sarcophagus appear to be by a
different hand and have been tentatively ascribed
to Jacopo's collaborator, Francesco Valdambrino,
whose presence in Lucca is documented.

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Basilica of San Frediano
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Presentation Sanda Foisoreanu https//plus.googl
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2013
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