UNESCO UNESCO - Memory of the World - The treasures that record our history from 1700 BC to the present day

Where is it

Archives of the Archdiocese of Lucca, Lucca, Italy

The Lucca archdiocesan archive is one of the largest archives in the world from the Early Middle Ages. During the time the archives cover, Lucca, in Tuscany, was ruled by the Lombards and was part of the Carolingian Empire. Its geographical situation placed it at a strategic point in the heart of Europe, along the Via Francigena pilgrimage route which connected Canterbury and Rome.

Parchments from the archives

The wealth of material in the archive dating from the Dark Ages makes the collection exceptional in Western Europe. The documents show the activities of the clerics and laymen who ruled Lucca during this time and their secular as well as religious activities, including relations with the papacy and the imperial powers. Many of the most important characters in early medieval Europe are mentioned in the papers, including Charlemagne, Otto I, king of Italy and later Holy Roman Emperor, and his successors, Otto II and Otto III.

The papers show the changes and evolution of the community and its territory, which were also closely related to the growth and development of Italy and Europe through the four centuries.

Lucca today

Detail of a codex from the archives

Volto Santo de Lucca

The history of the local people, their society, economy, culture and other aspects such as demographic patterns can all be traced through the documents. Lucca was a rich community and imperial and papal privileges and provisions, agrarian and commercial contracts, sales, loans and donations are all recorded.

The community’s religious and spiritual expression is particularly notable in the edification of churches and the development of the cult of the Holy Face, the town’s patron. The Holy Face, or Volto Santo, is a wooden crucifix believed to have been sculpted by Nicodemus, a friend and contemporary of Christ, and brought to Lucca in AD 742. Bound up with religious expression is the city’s artistic outflowing, in the wealth of religious buildings, the decoration of its churches and in the production of its silk factory, used to make religious vestments.

The documents reveal further changes, both through the centuries and in different geographical areas, in practices in handwriting, parchment and miniature preparation and the use of colours and gold in manuscripts.

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