Il Volto Santo e la monetazione lucchese nel XIII secolo

he mint of Lucca, which had the longest production history in the region, was one of the first mints in central-northern Italy to introduce an iconographic type on its silver coins (the “grossi”) at the beginning of the thirteenth century. It was at the time of this important innovation that the Holy Face first appeared on the coins of Lucca. The essay highlights those elements that are useful for defining the chronology of these “grossi” and their iconography, in order to understand both the reasons for this choice as well as any reference to the icon kept in the cathedral of San Martino. Moreover, the paper presents the gold and silver coins that the mint of Lucca struck from the mid-thirteenth century, illustrating also in this case the novelties with respect to the material and iconographic point of view, as well as the elements of comparison with the Holy Face that is to this day revered in Lucca.