Romanesque art in Lucca

On the Hermits' Hill

Monte Pisano has a noble and legendary past.

The subsoil, rich in long limestone caves, has always been a destination for geologists and speleologists. The limestone outcrops in the hills closest to the Apuan Alps. It is the same material used in many of Lucca's churches in these areas and in the historic center.

The surface alternates between dense Mediterranean scrub, evergreen holm oaks and rich game, along whose edges aristocratic villas and villages have found a home; the low garrigue of the most rugged and silent peaks, where hermits have found refuge and which, in the summer, is scented with helichrysum and other marine flowers; terraces cultivated with olive trees and hillocks blooming with lilies, anemones, and wild orchids.

An environment rich in charm and natural beauty. The mountain was and still is a crossroads of paths and roads that crisscross these unspoiled landscapes, opening up to views of the Lucca plain, the Versilia coast, and the Pisa plain.

The new road from Lucca to Pisa passes through this fantastic period, dotted with small treasures of Romanesque architecture immersed in the silence and scents of the countryside.

Starting from Lucca and heading into the countryside, the first village you come across is San Lorenzo a Vaccoli, crossed by the road that was once the road to Pisa.
The Oratory of San Salvatore, which has been mentioned since the 8th century, is a small hall-shaped structure made of local white limestone mixed with stone, with a singular asymmetrical façade and a bell gable.

Going up the hillside, in the village of San Michele in Escheto, we find the Church of San Michele Arcangelo. The church dates back to the 8th century and was subsequently renovated several times between the 11th and 18th centuries, while still retaining the distinctive charm of ancient country churches.

Further up the mountain, you reach the Convent of San Cerbone, a place of silence and meditation that legend has it was founded on the spot where Saint Cerbone and Saint Regolo took refuge while fleeing Africa. The large Romanesque church, with its impressive wooden choir of exquisite craftsmanship, and the large terrace offering a splendid view of Monte Pisano and the Pian di Lucca, are still the heart of the complex managed by the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales. They offer hospitality in the convent, study in the library, refreshment in the refectory, peace in the cloister, and work and meditation in the olive grove, vegetable garden, and orchard.

The last town before tackling “the Mountain” is Santa Maria del Giudice, divided by the new road to Pisa, nestled at the foot of Monte Pisano.

On the left side of the road, clearly visible from afar, is the old 12th-century parish church of Santa Maria del Giudice, dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. Elegant and harmonious, with Pisan Romanesque accents and two-tone decoration, it is the village's little gem.

From here a path crosses the lush and cool forest of holm oak, oak and holly.

Monte Pisano welcomed many of the hermit settlements in Tuscany, so much so that it was identified with the Mons heremita which appears in a fresco in the Camposanto monumentale of Pisa and in another in the church of San Agostino in San Gimignano.

The new parish church, on the right side of the road, dates back to the end of the 12th century and is dedicated to the Assumption.

The dominant color is the white limestone from local quarries. The entire building is surrounded by a row of arches with long, narrow windows, which is repeated on the façade in multiple overlapping loggias, typical of the local Romanesque style between Lucca and Pisa. The octagonal bell tower is set directly above the apse of the church, and starting from an octagonal plan, gradually tapers towards the top.

Looking up, we reach the peaks of Monte Pisano, which we can reach by following a path (accessible by car) that finally reaches the Passo di Dante.

“This one seemed to me to be a master and a lord, hunting the wolf and wolf cubs on the mountain why the Pisans cannot see Lucca.”

This is what Dante wrote in Canto XXXIII of the Divine Comedy, and this is what the plaque under the bust of the Supreme Poet says. Dante's passage corresponds precisely to the passage on the ancient road that connected Lucca and Pisa.

For those of us arriving from Lucca, a splendid view of the coast opens up, along with a small but tasty taste of possible and easy hikes on Monte Pisano among myrtle, holm oak woods, and Mediterranean scrub.

One last effort and you reach the Spelonca Hermitage, built near a miraculous cave. The hermitage was founded in 1190 by Honestus and Dulci, hermit monks who lived in poverty, sometimes in conflict with ecclesiastical institutions. They also dedicated themselves to the religious assistance of the population who lived in these places and who had difficulty reaching churches.
The building is a single-hall church, constructed on the original medieval building, further renovated in the 800th century, which included the façade and barrel vault.

In its vicinity there are interesting structures carved directly into the rock, including a cistern with a quadrangular mouth, built close to the cave, a staircase with holes for a gate and a circular basin surrounded by channels, post holes and joints.
Furthermore, on both sides there are visible base rooms for probable hermitage structures.

img: Michele Colombini I go and see excursions & trekkingIn the Lucca area, in addition to the itineraries in the historic center of Lucca, among the great basilicas and minor churches, one can search for evidence of this style in the countryside and on the hills, often coinciding with the great routes of the past, on the borders of the Serchio Valley and at the foot of that Monte Pisano also mentioned by Dante in the Divine Comedy and which served as a border between the quarrelsome people of Lucca and Pisa.

The Brancoleria

Between the Lucca Plain and the Serchio Valley, Brancoleria is a narrow, green valley dotted with villages with narrow alleys and tall houses with carved stone doorways, small arched windows, and countless details. The village of Brancoli, from which the valley takes its name, is a unique place, composed of several distinct hamlets, sometimes several kilometers apart, linked by a dense network of paths through woods and plains, and characterized by small parish churches with fascinating histories that conceal masterpieces.

The Parish Church of San Giorgio in Brancoli is the largest and most harmonious, immersed in unspoiled nature. The tour begins here and continues from village to village along this Romanesque route.

The parish church of San Giorgio in Brancoli is one of the most fascinating examples of late Romanesque architecture in Lucca. Worked by the Comacine masters, the same craftsmen who worked on the Lucca Cathedral, they chose simpler yet elegant and refined forms for this "country" church. The interior of the church is more traditional Romanesque, with large columns and inlaid capitals. On the portal of the side church, a comical figure greets visitors.

From here, you can climb up to the Brancoli Cross, following the Stations of the Cross and crossing the trenches and walkways dug by the Germans during the Second World War, along the so-called "Gothic Line." Crossing the village and then the chestnut forest, the Brancoli Cross offers a sweeping view of the valley and the Serchio River, the peaks of the Apuan Alps and the Apennines.

From the cross, you can walk to Piazza di Brancoli, the highest village in this area. It is a small hamlet with a splendid view, clustered around the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, whose origins are very ancient, as confirmed by the beautiful pre-Romanesque bas-reliefs on the façade and the portal decorated with plant motifs, an architrave with leaves and human figures, lions, saints, and angels.

Descending into the valley, the road reaches a fork. Proceeding to the right, you reach San Pietro di Ombreglio, surmounted by the pink bell tower of the church, whose current appearance dates back to the 17th century. Already recorded in the chronicles since the 8th century, rebuilt in 1199, as attested by the inscription at the entrance, the church underwent radical modifications in the 18th century, with the addition of side chapels in 1870.

On the left, however, after a few kilometers of hairpin bends lined with olive groves, the road runs alongside the small church of San Lorenzo in Corte, a striking white church in the landscape. The bell tower, rising above an arch, hints at the presence of a previous road, the ancient path from Vinchiana that climbed toward the Brancoli Hermitage. The interior is very simple, with a single nave, but it houses an important terracotta by Della Robbia depicting the titular saint.

Continuing down, you come across the church of Sant'Ilario in Brancoli. The exterior has been remodeled several times, but the interior retains almost entirely its original, charming 7th-century appearance.

The church of San Frediano in Deccio di Brancoli has a thousand-year history and cannot go unnoticed. The last renovation was recent, in 1913, but it retains its original austere appearance. From the village, nestled on a hilltop around the ancient castle defending the plain, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the valley.