one o'clock before
Again there is a halt before the snowy façade of the church of San Michele , pillared to the summit with slender columns of Carrara marble -- on the topmost pinnacle a colossal statue of the archangel , in golden bronze , the outstretched wings glistening against the turquoise sky . Here the same ceremonies are repeated as at the church of San Frediano . The archbishop halts , the chanting ceases , the Host is elevated , the assembled priests adore it , kneeling without the portal . It is one o'clock before the archbishop is enthroned within the cathedral . The chapter , robed in red and purple , are ranged behind him in the tribune at the back of the high altar , the grand old frescoes hovering over them . The secular dignitaries are seated on benches below the altar-steps . _ Palchi _ -LRB- boxes -RRB- , on either side of the nave , are filled with Lucchese ladies , dark-haired , dark-eyed , olive-skinned , backed by the crimson draperies with which the nave is dressed .