The Holy Face of Lucca is certainly one of the most venerated crucifixes in the world. According to tradition, the Holy Face was sculpted by Nicodemus and completed by a divine hand, arriving in Lucca in 842 after a long sea voyage. Christ is represented alive on the Cross, dressed in a long sleeved tunic. The body is rendered with large but flat folds while the head stands out for the strong relief. The sculptor who created this imposing work in the first half of the 11th century concentrated on rendering the somatic details of Jesus according to oriental iconography: the elongated face, the long moustache and the beard divided into two points. The detail that has most impressed the observer for centuries are the large round and expressive eyes.
