Basilica of San Frediano

San Frediano is a Romanesque church in Lucca. She wears since 1957 the honorary title of minor Basilica. It is dedicated to Frediano of Lucca.

The facade is exceptionally not west, but east, because at that time in close proximity to a new city wall was built and you did not want to let her go against this wall facade. The church was built at the beginning of the 12th century ( 1118-1147 ), and in the 13th century, the nave walls were raised to 3.30 meters, which is why now the facade had to be pulled up. The result was a strange building on the lower part of the facade, which was equipped with a mosaic of the " Ascension of Christ " (of this mosaic is no longer preserved all original. During the 19th century had to be greatly expanded ). The lower part is in the older tradition of simple surface facades.

The Campanile was built from 1112 to 1147. He does not stand in front of the main facade, but on the east side.

The interior offers despite or because of later changes the image of a pure, austere Romanesque. In the central nave height and width are in the classic 2:1 ratio as in the cathedral of Pisa. Here's another of those impression of the early Christian churches felt, in those between the ground floor arcades and the window zone, a broad strip of wall remains, which was covered with mosaics, as is still to be seen most vividly in Ravenna.

In the aisle just to the right at the entrance of a baptistery and a baptismal font dating from the mid 12th century are to be seen. Actually, the baptistery should stand outside the church, so that no unbaptized comes into the church interior. But to this rule there are variants, in this case the baptismal font in close proximity to the entrance inside. In Lucca no Baptisteries exist. It is clearly evident that the baptismal font in the crown of its inner basin has great similarity to the roof form of the Pisan Baptistery.