Saint Bartolomeo in Formentale

Lucca, località Formentale, Via di Formentale, 55100 Lucca LU

The church of San Bartolomeo in Formentale is remembered starting from the XIII century but it was probably built in the previous century in the typical forms of so much medieval Lucchese sacred architecture of the time: with a single nave and apse, it is flanked by a bell tower isolated on the side right of the facade. The latter presents some of the oldest pieces of masonry in the entire architectural complex: it was in fact customary, in the churches of the area, that in the case of a reconstruction the bell tower was left standing in its previous forms, so that they did not fail its functions including strategic territorial control. The church of San Bartolomeo has been extensively remodeled several times: it happened, for the interior, especially during the 17^th century, but one of the most substantial interventions concerned the exterior of the church and can be dated even to the last century. Two 20^th century architectural restoration campaigns aimed to restore the building to a misunderstood idea of ​​medieval originality, acting on all the walls also with a complete hammering finish that has in fact distorted the exterior appearance of the building. The only part that remained sheltered from the changes was the apse, which continues to show the typical processing with square ashlars characteristic of many of the architecture of the area erected during the 12^th century. Inside the church there is a wooden sculpture of the last quarter of the 15^th century depicting St. Bartholomew and assignable to Matteo Civitali: in the work the saint is depicted naked with a large cloak draped around the body; in one hand St. Bartholomew squeezes the knife, an attribute of his martyrdom by skinning; the face, tense and emaciated, fully brings out the extraordinary ability of the sculptor in the physiognomic characterization of the characters he depicts and in the intensity of their psychological rendering.