- Duomo di San Martino
Tradition wants the first church of San Martino to have been built by will of San Frediano, bishop of Lucca, who died in 588. It was then rebuilt in 1070 by order of Pope Alexander II (1061-1073).
The Church had a third and final reconstruction at the end of the XII century; the facade was rearranged and at the end of 1637 the Chapel of the Shrine was completed. Over the centuries various superintendents guided the construction site; Antonio Pardini from Pietrasanta (1395-1419) deserves a special mention and it is under his influence that the building took the form it has today.
The church keeps many important works of art: the relief of the Deposition of Nicola Pisano (1220 ca-ca 1280), and funerary monuments of Da Noceto and Bertini by Matteo Civitali (1436-1501), and paintings such as Madonna with Child and Saints by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) and the Last Supper by Tintoretto (1518-1594).
Two masterpieces, however, stand out: the ancient crucifix Volto Santo (or Santa Croce- Holy Cross) and the Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto by Jacopo della Quercia (about 1374 to 1438).
Address:
Piazza San Martino
Opening times:
Summer: from 7.00am to 7.00pm
Winter: from 7.00am to 5.00pm
Useful info:
The entrance ticket may be inclusive of the Complesso Museale della Cattedrale and the church of S.Giovanni.