Lucca Italy

We had heard some great things about this little historic city, so on a day with no plans, we booked the regional train from Florence to Lucca for a day trip. The regional train makes a few stops but it was an easy hour and 20 minutes to cover the about 50 miles.

What a little gem of a side trip that this turned out to be! A little about this unique town. Lucca is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000.

The unique thing about Lucca is that it is a completely walled in city. It somehow escaped the world war bombing so the walls are still intact, and the Renaissance era history center is unchanged.

It was first settled in the 3rd century BC and then later developed more under the Roman empire in 180 BC. There were many historical events through the Middle Ages and then by 1805 it was converted from a republic to a monarchy by Napolean and he installed his sister as the princess to rule.

The train station is location only about 300 meters from the city gate or wall so it was an easy walk in. We had no real plans but to walk around, see the main significant places, have a nice lunch, then catch the train back to Florence. We took the 9am train that arrived at 10:20am, and would depart at 3:30pm to get home just before 5pm.

The wall was not at all what I was expecting. It is actually a wide earthen wall, maybe 200 feet wide and 40 feet tall. It has stone and brick on the outside walls and at the massive gates. This city was well protected! They started building the wall in 1500 and finished it 150 years later.

To get into the city, you pass through an old gate, through a small open area, then through a curved tunnel.

The top of the wall is now a park and pedestrian walkway. You can also rent bikes to ride all around the city on this wall. We walked about half of it and then off to explore the town. Our observations are that at this time of year, Lucca is a sleepy, quiet and very clean town. Most of the city center streets are pedestrian only. Whereas, in Florence there are always scooters and bikes zipping by if not vans or buses. The sidewalks are always crowded in Florence, but here they are wide open with no hustle or bustle.

The walkway all around the city. This is on the wall

As we were walking well away from the tourist shopping areas as I like to do, Pat spotted a little Trattoria that looked very cute. Interestingly, they had some signs out front to discourage the average tourist such as don’t ask for pizza and something else along those lines. The waiter did not know much English at all, so luckily another patron dining helped us out. It was a great meal! Sorry, no photos.

Our month in Italy is about over and we fly to Barcelona tomorrow morning. In the course of the last 31 days the weather has significantly changed. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts and are now bundled up wearing knit caps and gloves.

Staying warm with layers and a cappuccino. I may look a little dorky with the ball cap plus knit cap, but staying warm!

There were an incredible number of large and ornate churches in Lucca. We toured the San Matino or St Martin’s cathedral if you will. It was officially consecrated in 1070. Artwork abounded inside with massive paintings installed on hinges that can be opened to reveal frescos underneath.