The Holy Face of Lucca Cathedral returns to its Tempietto: handling operations concluded

The delicate operations to move the Holy Face inside the Cathedral of San Martino in Lucca from the restoration laboratory to the Tempietto by Matteo Civitali, where the work will return to its final location, ended today at 12 noon. This will now be followed by the remounting phase inside the tempietto, expected to last about a month, at the end of which an official presentation open to the public and the press will be organized.

Starting at 8 a.m., Arterìa’s technicians, working under the direction of the Cathedral Church Authority and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, with the high supervision of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Lucca, Massa-Carrara and Pistoia, moved the crucifix.

The work, previously secured, was placed on a special mobile structure prepared for transport inside the Cathedral to the Tempietto. Once it reached its destination, the crucifix was lifted by means of a winch system specially designed for the operation and then reinserted into the sacellum through the side opening. Finally, the Holy Face was anchored back to the original wall thanks to a metal structure behind it made to ensure its stability and preservation over time.

The operations were also attended by representatives of the Archdiocese of Lucca, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca, which financially supported the entire restoration, and other entities involved in the project.

More than three years have passed since December 1, 2022, when the Holy Face had left Matteo Civitali’s Tempietto, which has guarded it since 1484, to be transferred to the restoration workshop set up inside Lucca Cathedral. The restoration, which became necessary due to the conservation condition of the work, allowed the acquisition of new knowledge about the execution technique and materials of the sculpture, also bringing to light the polychromy hidden under a dark layer. Thanks to the intervention, the Holy Face has recovered the appearance it had between the 9th and 17th centuries.

The diagnostic investigations carried out agree in dating the sculpture to the 9th century, confirming that the Holy Face represents one of the three oldest monumental wooden crucifixes in the West and the best preserved.

The Holy Face, 250 centimeters high, 270 centimeters wide and 40 centimeters deep, with a cross measuring 442 x 286 centimeters, has been kept in Lucca Cathedral for more than a thousand years and represents one of the city’s most important identity symbols. The work depicts a Christus triumphans, an image of Christ victorious over death and evil. During the Middle Ages the Holy Face was one of the most celebrated and revered sacred images in Europe, as it was believed to be the true portrait of Christ carved by the disciple Nicodemus after the crucifixion, according to the tradition recorded in the Gospel of St. John.

The Holy Face of Lucca Cathedral returns to its Tempietto: handling operations concluded

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