The Power of Images, the Images of Power: Lucca as an Imperial City: Political Iconography

This study, covering almost a thousand years of art history in Lucca, can also be seen as a model for a wider investigation of the political iconography of the Italian city-states, which is among the current desiderata of art history. Lucca offers in this respect a particularly relevant example. Max Seidel, Professor of Art History at several European universities, director of the art institute of Florence, freeman of the city of Florence, is one of the most respected authorities of the arts of the Middle Ages. Romano Silva, director of the Istituto Storico Lucchese, is known as one of the best experts of Italian Art History.