THE CHURCH OF SAN PAOLINO AND DONATO AND ITS PATRON SAINT

?For tourists arriving at the Lucca Tourist Reception, the first stretch that leads to the heart of the center of Lucca is via S.Paolino where in the Terzieze there is the Church of S.Paolino.

It is the only fully Renaissance church in Lucca, dedicated to St. Paplono of Antioch. He was the first bishop of Lucca, sent by St. Peter in 46 AD. to evangelize these territories, to then be martyred under Emperor Domitius Enobard Nero, who later became patron saint of the city and of the archdiocese.

The cult of San Paolino originates from the discovery of his bone remains, which took place in 1261 in the underground cemetery, near the early Christian church of San Giorgio. The church building was rebuilt in the 11th century to be dedicated to Saints Paolino and Antonio; rebuilt again in the 14th century, it was subsequently renovated starting in 1516, based on a design by Baccio da Montelupo, to then be consecrated to Saints Paolino and Donato. The Latin cross plan: it houses eleven altars; it has a single hall, of the Doric order, with a barrel vault and chapels along the sides; it features a spacious cruise, while the arms of the transept barely emerge from the size of the hall. Compared to the others, the domed roof does not have a particular height, helping to create a spatially determined environment.

The agile and harmonious three-order fa?ade stands out for its accentuated verticality. Spared by the Napoleonic suppressions, it largely retains its original furnishings of paintings and sculptures. Among these there is: "the Virgin with various saints, by Cavalier Vanni; miracle of S.Teodoro by Pietro Testa; the ancient table representing, above, the coronation of the Virgin with various saints, below, on the front kneeling a pope and a warrior with Lucca towered in the middle,probably attributed to Giotto; table "of which Vasari speaks in his life, although the description does not exactly correspond". In the sixteenth-century church of San Paolino e Donato, a large painting tells the story of the miracle of San Paolino.

In the year 1664, on the day of the celebrations of the patron saint of Lucca, cannons were fired for the festivities, but that day, the cannons were not loaded with blanks, as expected and were aimed at the crowd! Only the miraculous intervention of the saint saved the crowd under the walls.

The painting, made in commemoration by Giovanni Domenico Lombardi Detto Omino in about 1682/1751 tells well the scene that takes place on the new Renaissance walls of which the structure is being reconstructed. Saint Paulinus is at the top right surrounded by angels.

Below him, in the parade ground, the bomber captain and the captain's aide guard the cannons.

To the left of the cannon are two drummers and three bombers, a standard-bearer and a spear.

On the bridge in front of the San Donato gate designed by Muzio Oddi from Urbino between 1628 and 1639 and completed in 1667 with the arrangement on its sides of two statues depicting Saints Paolino and Donato, a crowd of people, as also on the square of the bastion, confirming that it is a day of celebration. Another painting, attributed to Pompeo Pinotti, placed on the counter-fa?ade wall, represents the Saint as it is customary to represent him in Lucca: with the city of Lucca in his hands, in this case the Roman city easily recognizable by the walls with towers. ?The same representation is found on the door of San Donato and in the choir of the cathedral where the miracle of 1664 is also represented.

S. Paolino was the first bishop of Lucca and martyr on Monte Pisano, once known for the presence of many hermits and religious.

On 15 June 1261 the bishop of Lucca granted indulgences in memory of three martyrs, listed only by name: Paolino bishop and disciple of s. Peter apostle, first bishop of Lucca, Severo presbyter and Theobald soldier.

The martyrs named on that occasion ended up in oblivion but not Saint Paulinus who became the first bishop and evangelizer and patron, despite the ancient cult paid to the local bishop Saint Frediano and the one already given as patron saint of the Church of Lucca to Saint Martin, to whom the cathedral was dedicated.

The cult for St. Paulinus, increased in the following centuries; between 1518 and 1519 a larger and richer basilica was erected for the patron saint, based on a design by Baccio da Montelupo, where the very ancient sarcophagus is kept, with the epigraph describing the discovery of the relics of St. Paulinus, of S. Severus and St. Theobald.

The celebrations of the patron saint start from this basilica and culminate in the Palio di San Paolino on the night of the feast, preceded by songs, music and flag games. Today the via S.Paolino is an ?important commercial street that connects the porta S.Donato and S.Anna in the heart of Lucca where streets is another square just as important as Piazza S.Michele in Foro.

Every year the Feast of the Patron Saint takes place which takes place on July 12 with the parade of the flag-wavers and archers of the Terziere di S. Paolino.

Luigi Mansi