I’ve heard that you can see parts of Lucca’s Roman Wall inside of the Chiesa della Rosa (Church of the Rose) but it is seldom open to visitors. So I was excited to be able to go into this church for an evening service. The façade is so simple and the building is so low that it does not even look like a church. But this little church is just bursting with history!

First the legend that explains the name… During Roman times, shepherds would bring their sheep to this area outside of Lucca’s wall to rest and get water. One young shepherd who could not speak was surprised to find a bright green bush in the middle of winter. He went to investigate and found a beautiful blooming rose. He picked the rose and brought it to his father – and miraculously he could speak! News of the miracle spread and a wealthy family built a small private chapel here so that they and others could always remember the miracle that occurred here.

In 1309 (yep… a long time ago!) a request was made to the city to expand the chapel to make a small church. The document said that there was a beautiful fresco of the Madonna and Child in the private chapel and that it would be moved to the altar after the church was built. The fresco was called “Madonna, holding a Rose, and with St Peter and St Paul“. When it was moved (very difficult for frescos!), St Peter, St Paul, and parts of a few angels were lost, but the fresco is now on the altar of the Chiesa della Rosa. This fresco is now believed to the oldest piece of art in Lucca.

One of the walls of the church is the original Roman Wall of the city from the first century BC. This was a common practice at the time that saved the cost and work of building one wall. You can easily see the original stones, huge blocks of limestone, on the left hand side of the church’s interior. Several small portions of the walls have been discovered throughout Lucca, but this is the only substantial portion that is available to be seen today.

As is common, the church has undergone multiple renovations over the centuries. The interior is a delightful mix of styles with very intricate windows on the right hand side.

In May 2019 we rented a small apartment for a month that was on the same street. I stopped several times to look at these windows from the street and couldn’t make sense of them. The building just doesn’t look like a church from the outside – too small, no grand façade, etc. This evening with the lights on inside of the building, the light shines through the beautiful blue glass and it clearly looks like a beautiful but small church.

When you look closer at the exterior carvings, you see many beautiful carved roses at this Church of the Rose.

Every time we go down this street, I will remember the stories, art, and Roman walls that are hidden in plain site.