Lucca

On Friday I went to Lucca with the students of the Siena Italian Studies program, my mom, brother, who came to visit for three weeks, and dad. We went to the San Martino cathedral and there was a very different Jesus on the crucifix, Volto Santo. It is said to have been by Nicodemus in Jerusalem and put in a boat. The boat landed on the coast of Tuscany, where wild oxen miraculously carried it to Lucca. The Jesus is black, has a beard, a moustache, does not have nails in his feet, is wearing a crown of gold, not thorns, and has Asian eyes. I thought that this Jesus was very cool because it is so different from all the other paintings that you see of Jesus. I would have a picture of the crucifix but, we were not allowed to take pictures.