With its ‘unfinished’ façade, the Church of San Domenico is one of the most recognisable and iconic in San Miniato. Also known as the Church of San Jacopo and Lucia, it is located in the central Piazza del Popolo.
Construction
Built on pre-existing structures, its consecration dates back to 1330, when the Dominican friars obtained permission to enlarge the building, which they began to inhabit in 1345.
Features and works
Its particularity lies in the façade, which was never completed. In fact, the marble roof is missing. The only completed part is the portal, which is also notable for the fresco – in the lunette – depicting Our Lady of the Rosary between St Dominic and St Catherine, by Antonio Luigi Gajoni.
The architectural style is a mixture of Gothic and Baroque. Inside we find a single nave, two pipe organs and many frescoes, including those dedicated to the Stories of San Domenico, by Anton Domenico Bamberini and some 18th-century Lucchese artists.
One of the chapels, the main chapel known as the ‘Spedalinghi’ chapel, was frescoed by one of the protagonists of Art Nouveau in Italy, Galileo Chini.
The cloister to the right of the church – whose construction began in 1520 – houses the Municipal Library.