San Michele in Foro is the most spectacular church in Lucca — a 13th-century basilica on the site of the old Roman forum whose façade reaches a crescendo of Pisan-Romanesque fantasy. The lower arcades give way to tier upon tier of twisted columns, carved animals, heraldic devices, and inlaid geometric patterns, the whole topped by a large gilded figure of the Archangel Michael. The interior is relatively simple after the theatrical exterior, but contains a beautiful painted terracotta by Andrea della Robbia.
The piazza in front of the church is one of the social hearts of Lucca, busy from morning to evening with coffee, aperitivo, and passing foot traffic. The best view of the façade is from the far corner of the piazza in the early morning, when the angled light picks out the relief carvings in sharp relief.