San Michele--Lucca

This is the apse of San Michele in Foro, a basilica in Lucca (Tuscany).  We arrived here late yesterday, and went out for a wonderful walk this morning--this was our main destination.  I was tempted to blip the very high façade (shown well on the Wiki link), but I found this more touching. We arrived a few minutes before the beginning of mass, and just barely found seats beside the altar from which I took this shot--the child in the foreground was not the only one scurrying around, and in fact the mass was altogether quite modern, with guitarists accompanying the songs.

This painted crucifix is from the early  twelfth century; exceptionally it portrays Christ with clothing in light relief.