San Michele in Foro
Unknown Lucchese workshop · Lucca, Italy · 1143
San Michele in Foro occupies the site of Lucca's Roman forum and remains the focus of one of the city's principal squares. Its high west front rises above the nave as a layered screen of open arcades, each level animated by different columns and carved details. The church behind is more compact, with a basilican interior and a prominent south transept facing the piazza. Pisan Romanesque forms are adapted into an especially decorative civic façade, crowned by a large statue of the archangel. Construction extended over centuries; the year is an approximate early medieval anchor rather than a precise completion date for the visible church.