Free Guide of Tuscany - Lucca

In the heart of northwest Tuscany, just a few kilometres from the coast of Versilia and less than an hour’s drive from Florence, Lucca is situated on a flat area called the Lucca Plain, surrounded by the Apennines and the Apuan Alps.
The 15th- and 16th-century walls surrounding the city are still standing today: almost 5 kilometres enclosing the Medieval town centre, which brims with history, art and a maze of streets where the tradition of old master craftsmen lives on. Lucca is referred to the “city of 100 churches” due to its host of religious buildings, many from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in addition to an abundance of the bell towers and convents inside the city walls.
No matter the season, Lucca offers tourists a wide variety of delights aside from its many churches and city buildings: in winter, you can spend time shopping in Via Fillungo, which has always been the commercial heart of the city. In warmer weather, you can cool off in the shade of the green vegetation of the hills on the Plain, amid parish churches and villas. Autumn is a time for flavours and good food, while a visit to the city Botanical Gardens or the grounds of the many villas surrounding the city are ideal activities in spring.
Lucca still has its Medieval heart, which has withstood the transformations of its urban fabric, alongside the network of streets created by the Romans during the 2nd Century BC. Artefacts of both periods overlap and intertwine: if you visit the site where the Roman amphitheatre once stood, you will find the Market square and its perfect elliptical shape which reflects the original layout, surrounded by buildings built close to the city walls. Admiring the façade of the Pisan Romanesque-style cathedral of San Martino also means looking at the former location of the forum. The façade is distinguished by a large portico and three rows of loggias, while the portals are adorned with 13th-century reliefs. Inside, the building guards impressive funeral monuments, including that of Ilaria del Carretto, a masterpiece created by Jacopo della Quercia in 1408, along with 17th-century frescoes of immense value. Another typical Pisa-Lucca style church is San Michele in Foro, which also has a façade adorned with loggias and marble: on the outside, huge arcades look to the bell tower decorated with small arches. Among the most popular streets of Lucca, Via Guinigi boasts original Medieval buildings, with their characteristic towers, constructed in the 14th-century. Starting with Piazza San Michele, the lively city centre, wanderers enter the 17th-century section of the city. A splendid example of architecture from this era can be seen in Palazzo del Podestà, with a large portico on arcades, and Palazzo Mansi, which hosts the national Pinacoteca art gallery, exhibiting period furniture and the Camera Degli Sposi (bridal chamber), furnished with precious silks and embellished with gilt stuccoes. Other rich Renaissance or Baroque buildings include Palazzo Pfanner, whose large outdoor staircase lead to some of the most suggestive grounds in Tuscany, adorned with statues and lemon trees. Don’t forget to visit the church of San Frediano, built during the 12th century and modified during the 13th century. The façade is embellished by a Byzantine-inspired mosaic portraying the Ascension; inside, you will find marble works by Jacopo della Quercia. Art Nouveau lovers will be delighted with the decorated shop windows along Via Fillungo.
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Unlike many other Italian cities, Lucca still has its 16th-century walls, which are now the symbol of the city and of its history, marked by resistance to external threats. The huge city walls are almost 5 kilometres in length; consider that the bottom of the walls are 30 metres thick. Early in the 19th century, Maria Luisa di Borbone transformed the upper part of the walls into a path, planting hundreds of tall trees along it. Today, the city walls are a public park, affording a unique view of the city and the surrounding hills.

Day Trips
The city is surrounded by the Lucca plain, an extensive area of flat land enclosed by hills. The terrain here is mostly farmland and it is dotted with over 300 villas and centuries-old parish churches. The villas, summer residences of Luccan merchants and nobles, built around the 15th-16th centuries, are enclosed in luxurious grounds and gardens, decorated with fountains and surrounded by walls and elaborate wrought-iron gates. Don’t miss a visit to Villa Oliva, Villa Grabau and Villa Mansi. The countryside around Lucca also features a large number of parish churches - Christian places of worship to celebrate communion - prevalently from the High Middle Ages, which were built along waterways, where at that time the busiest roads met, in an attempt to spread Catholicism outside the city walls.

Special Events
An unusual time to visit Lucca is when Lucca Comics is held, the most important Italian comics fair, which takes place every year between late October and early November. In July, Piazza Napoleone hosts its Summer Festival, with performances by international music stars. In spring, the eighteenth edition of the Lucchesia Old Camellias Exhibition Market is held between 17th March and 1st April, with exhibitions, conventions on the theme, performances and visits to the gardens of the Lucca Plain.

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