Lucca

The city of 100 churches

Lucca is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. This is a city that absolutely deserves to be visited far and wide. With her extraordinary historical and artistic heritage and her liveliness, Lucca will always make you fall in love. Lucca is located in a very interesting position, in the north-western part of Tuscany, in a plain at the foot of the Apuan Alps, not far from the coast and the nightlife of Versilia and quite close to other cities of art such as Pisa and Pistoia.

An essential stop on any trip to Tuscany, Lucca has a long history behind it that has its roots in antiquity. It was already a city in Roman times and in the 6th century AD it became the capital of the Lombard duchy of Tuscia. During the Middle Ages it established itself as one of the most important Italian cities and in the 14th century it became a Republic and remained so until 1799. Following the French invasion, the Principality of Lucca and Piombino was in fact established, run by Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, and only with the Congress of Vienna was an autonomous state recreated, the Duchy of Lucca. The city became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany only in 1847, a few years before the unification of Italy.

Lucca has been nicknamed the city of 100 churches and by visiting it you will soon understand the reason. Here are some of the most beautiful churches in Tuscany such as the Duomo, or the Cathedral of San Martino, the Basilica of San Frediano and the Chiesa di San Michele in Foro. The city is full of museums such as that of Palazzo Mansi, beautiful historic buildings and towers (a visit to the Guinigi Tower with its very particular tree-lined garden is a must). The squares are another strong point of the historic center of Lucca: Piazza San Michele, Piazza Napoleone and Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, are really one more beautiful than the other. All these beauties are enclosed and protected by the imposing walls of Lucca which over time have been converted to accommodate a beautiful tree-lined avenue ideal for long and pleasant walks.