Church of San Michele

The Church of San Michele is located on the site of the ancient Roman Forum, the heart of the city and a place of meeting and trade. Until 1370, during the municipal period, Piazza San Michele was the meeting place of the Consiglio Maggiore, Lucca's highest legislative body.

Church of San Michele in Foro with its bell tower. The lower section has blind arches along the entire perimeter, and a row of loggias at the top. The façade has a gabled profile and is decorated with rows of overlapping loggias, surmounted by a statue of Saint Michael defeating the dragon and two angels playing music. In one corner of the façade is a hanging altar with a statue of the Madonna and Child.

STREET ADDRESS: Piazza San Michele, Lucca

PHONE: 0583 53576

The church can be visited every day from 9:00 to 18:00.

Documented for the first time in 795 with the name to the hole, the current church was built starting from 1070 at the behest of Pope Alexander IIThe work continued for a long time, and the transition from one era to another led to the creation of a complex architectural work, given the juxtaposition of different styles. The result is a Gothic-style basilica with Romanesque motifs.

The Church of San Michele has a Latin cross plan. Beginning in the 12th century, the bell tower was erected over the building's southern transept. In this regard, ancient Lucca chronicles report a curious detail. It is said that the Doge of Pisa, John of the Lamb, during his period of lordship (1364-1368), wanted to demolish the top floor of the bell tower either because it was higher than the Augusta tower, a way of exchanging signals with the Pisans via the San Giuliano hill, or because the sound of its bells reached as far as Pisa. Among the preserved works are noteworthy the Madonna and Child in glazed terracotta by Luca della Robbia and the panel depicting Four Saints by Filippino Lippi.

The façade features a large marble statue of the Archangel Michael, complete with wings and metal plates, slaying a dragon with a spear. A local legend holds that the ring on the angel's finger contains a huge diamond, and that its sparkle can be seen at night by standing at a specific spot in the square.

Puccini Itinerary
In the church of San Michele, Giacomo Puccini gave organ lessons to his only pupil, Carlo Della Nina. 
On the occasion of the feast of St. Michael (September 21) it is tradition to play pieces by composers of the Puccini family on the organ of the main altar.