(Our thanks goes to Divo Stagi for supplying this information and the wonderful photos.)
The Bernardini Family was one of the most powerful families of Lucca.
In 1512 Matteo Civitali, an important architect of the day, built the Bernardini Palace located on the northside of the Piazza Bernardini in the heart of the city of Lucca. Originally located on the site of the new Bernardini Palace was the Madonna Church, where the Madonna's holy image was. Some of the ruins of the church were used to build the new palace, including the window to the right of the main front door. But one stone of the window folded up toward the outside, as if it wanted to run away. This frightened the masons, and they refused to touch the stone anymore. The bent stone has remained, and after five centuries this stone can still be seen. This is the legend that explains the stone that did not want to be walled.
In 1545 the government of the City of Lucca was entrusted to Martino Bernardini. Martino created the "Gold Book", a list of the noble men of the City of Lucca that would help him manage Lucca
Here are some other views of the Bernardini Palace.
Here is the Bernardini Coat of Arms
Here is another view of the bent stone.
Here is a view of a
14th century
lamp on a corner of the Bernardini Palace.
These pieces of iron were placed on the corners of buildings
owned by the noble and rich families of Lucca to hold lamps. They placed
olive oil and pine resin into the lamps to illuminate the city.
Return to Elvira Bernardini page
This page was last updated on December 24, 2007
