Every year, the city of Lucca celebrates the Holy Cross in grand style. Events take place in mid-September and include the evocative Luminara di Santa Croce (September 13), which sees the streets and squares of the historic center illuminated with thousands of tealights and candles, while figures in medieval costume parade among the spectators. The nighttime procession follows a very specific path: the "miraculous path" of the Holy Face, the wooden crucifix kept in the Cathedral of San Martino, which tradition holds was created by Nicodemus based on the real face of Jesus. The relic, venerated throughout Europe since the Middle Ages as one of the most important in Christianity, was transported from Luni to Lucca and initially placed in the church of San Frediano.

The procession opens with the Banner of the Holy Face, a work by Lucca-born painter Michele Marcucci in the late 19th century; it is followed by the Cross of Flowers, created annually by Viareggio's flower growers.

The route begins at the Basilica of San Frediano, winds along Via Fillungo, then heads towards Piazza San Michele, Piazza del Giglio, and finally ends in Piazza San Martino.

In recent years, the tradition of the mottettone has been revived, a performance of a polyphonic composition, often composed especially for the occasion by musicians, mostly from Lucca, which closes the nighttime celebrations in the cathedral.

The following day, a solemn mass is held.