The Duomo - the church of San Martino, was consecrated in 1070, then there were lots of renovations and restructure projects. The facade is Romanesque. It is interesting how several of the churches in Lucca are butted up against buildings that make up part of a piazza. as can be seen in the photo below. The buildings are not falling over, the angle is due to me trying to get a shot of the whole piazza.
The statue between the centre and right arch is that of San Martino
Below, a beautifully sculpted image by Jacopo della Quercia (1407 - 1408) on the sarcophagus of a young woman Ilaria del Carretto, who died young and mourned greatly by her husband. Nice that she has her dog with her.
Madonna with Child, Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) - one of our favourite painters.
This labyrinth on a pillar in the porch of the cathedral was cut into a single stone. Apparently it harks back to pagan times, and had the images of Theseus and the Minataur, but over time fingers of thousands of people have rubbed these characters out, and the symbolism became linked to the grace of the Christian god leading the faithful out of the maze.
Below, details of the decorations in the porch.
Seasons and months of the year -
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