Custom Walk in Lucca, Italy by freeze923_34a36 created on 2025-02-03

Guide Location: Italy » Lucca
Guide Type: Custom Walk
# of Sights: 15
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.4 Km or 2.1 Miles
Share Key: HL73E

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1
Lucca Railway Station

1) Lucca Railway Station

The Lucca Railway Station is the main railway station of the city. It is located on the railroad which passes through Florence and Viareggio and coach lines to Pisa and Aulla. All the railroads are local, covered only by regional trains. The most important railway station in the Province of Lucca is located in Viareggio. The façade of the building is elegant and refined, showing a double row of arches that lightens the structure. Some changes were made over the years. There is a bar inside the building. Outside there is parking for buses and taxi cabs. The station has a daily passenger traffic of 4018 units.
2
Lucca's City Walls (The Lucca Ramparts)

2) Lucca's City Walls (The Lucca Ramparts) (must see)

The first thing to notice as one approaches the city center of Lucca is the walls. They completely encircle the old town. In order to enter the old city, one must pass through one of the main ports, or gates. They are Porta Elisa, Porta San Donato, Porta San Jacabo, Porta Sangta Maria, Porta V. Emanuele or Porta San Pietro.

The midieval wall wraps around the old city for two and a half miles. It is the only complete and intact city wall left in Italy. Lucca has had three walls. The first was a Roman defensive wall that lasted to around 1000 AD. The second, medieval wall expanded to enclose the growing city. The last wall was built in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The final wall was made to repel raiders from Pisa and the quarrelsome Medicis of Florence. It was effective. Not even when the Medicis controlled the papacy could they control Lucca. The wall remains today as a reminder of Luchese independence. In 1860 Italy was unified and city walls became unnecessary. But Lucca insisted on keeping theirs.
3
Duomo di San Martino (St. Martin's Cathedral)

3) Duomo di San Martino (St. Martin's Cathedral) (must see)

It is said the Cathedral of Saint Martin was founded by San Frediano in the 6th century and rebuilt by Bishop Anselmo da Baggio in 1060. It came into its current form in the 12th and 13th centuries. Anselmo later became Pope Alexander II. In 1372, the apse of the church and the wall of the transept were completed. The style was Gothic.

The facade of the church is in three great arches surmounted by three rows of galleries filled with sculptures. To the right of the facade is the bell tower. It has a four-sided base and five rows of windows divided by pilasters. The crown is made of Ghibeline merlons.

The interior is laid out in a Latin cross with three naves. The two side naves are topped by false galleries. The central nave is contained in a semicircular apse with three large Romanesque windows.

The left aisle has a small chapel holding the sacred relic, the Holy Face of Lucca. The relic is a wooden crucifix with the image of Christ, supposedly carved by Christ's contemporary Nicodemus. It is said to have suddenly appeared in Lucca in 742 AD. The chapel itself was built by Matteo Civitali in 1484. Civitali was a sculptor of Renaissance Lucca.

Off the sacristy is the funeral monument of Ilaria del Carretto, made by the sculptor Jacabo della Quercia. Ilaria was the wife of Paolo Guinigi, Lord of Lucca until 1430. The Lady Ilaria died very young. Her image depicts her lying on the sarcophagus as if asleep, her faithful dog at her feet. Her ghost is said to haunt the Guinigi tower at night.

The Cathedral is also famous for its long association with members of the Puccini family who moved to Lucca from the mountain village of Celle in 1719. Giacomo Puccini’s personal involvement with the Duomo began when he was sent here to attend a seminary school.

The Cathedral, at one time, was a home of two magnificent organs: one from the 15th century and the other from the 17th. Little remains of these instruments today but the gallery and frontal pipes are still visible. From the early 1870s, Puccini took part in the Festival of Santa Croce at the Cathedral, first as a boy singer, then as a member of the choir, and later as a deputy organist.
4
Church of San Giusto

4) Church of San Giusto

The current edifice of San Giusto, built over a pre-existing one, dates to the second half of the 12th century. It has a nave and two aisles with apses. The façade has a mixed decoration, with white and black stripes in the upper part, forming two small superimposed loggias at the top. The central portal was made by Guidetto's workshop, and, among the other details, includes two twisting atlases (one now partly missing) supporting two protruding lions at the sides of the lunette. The rest of the decoration has vegetable motifs or fantastic creatures. The two roots of the internal archivolt (which has black and white rows like in the upper façade) lay on two cubes with masks of Classic origin. The side portals have less ornate decorations, mostly limited to the capitals and similar to that of the central one. The latter is surmounted by a double mullioned window, while above the side ones are simpler oculi. The apse's exteriors features Lombard bands and two orders of single mullioned windows. The interior was remade during the 17th century in Baroque style.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
5
Palazzo Ducale (Palace of the Doges)

5) Palazzo Ducale (Palace of the Doges)

The Ducal Palace is located on the site of the Fortezza Augustan, it used to be the residence of condottiero Castruccio Castracani. The palace is of large size and owes its current appearance to the restoration in 1578 (from the left side to the central portal). The palace includes a central court, which is unfinished. It has a double portico with pillars and, in the center, a statue of the Lucchese lawyer Francesco Carrara. On the left is another unfinished court, known as Cortile degli Svizzeri, referring to the corps of Swiss Guard in service of the Republic of Lucca characterized by the use of rustication. The interior hall, accessed through a monumental stair, housed the National Gallery of Lucca, moved to Villa Guinigi in 1977. The staircase ends with a gallery of statues. The Hall of the General Council of the Republic has a Flemish painting and a fresco of the Lucchese Freedom. Above the Loggia delle Guardie is the Ammannati Loggia, decorated with grotesques and stuccose.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
6
Citadel Square and Puccini Monument

6) Citadel Square and Puccini Monument

The Citadel square (Piazza Cittadella) is in the pedestrian area of the city, a few meters from Piazza San Michele, and is famous above all for the presence of the house, now a museum, which gave birth to the composer Giacomo Puccini, to whom the image of Lucca in the world is inextricably linked.

In the center of the square there is a statue representing the musician from Lucca sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette. It is a final tribute, that is respected by the Italians and tourists who are traveling and make a stop.

Initially called Piazza Di Poggio due to the presence of the homonymous family, one of the most powerful in medieval Lucca, it had to change its name in 1522, when the same family challenged the other patrician families of Lucca for power, in what went down in history as the conspiracy of the Poggi, but it was defeated and its members were exiled.

It was therefore first called Piazza del Grano and then Piazza Cittadella due to the presence of the building, famous in the Baroque era for the hanging garden that was located on the large terrace that can be seen from the square, owned by the rich family of the same name from Lucca.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
7
Church of San Michele

7) Church of San Michele (must see)

The full name of the Church is San Michele in Foro. It was built in the Forum, the center of public life in the Commune of the City. The Church dates from 795 AD. Pope Alexander II ordered the Church rebuilt in 1070. The massive Pisan-Baroque facade resembles nothing less than a gigantic wedding cake.

There are four levels of arcades. The upper two tiers are free-standing loggias. The lower section is faced with white marble blind arcades. The center part of the upper facade has an iron-winged statue of Saint Michael spearing the dragon. If one looks closely one may see the emerald on Michael's finger ring.

On the lower right corner of the facade is a statue of Madonna Salute Portus, Made by Matteo Civitali to mark the end of the plague of 1476.

The interior has two aisles and a nave and a transept design with a semicircular apse. The nave is supported by arcades with massive columns. There is a terra-cotta image of the Madonna and child by Andrea della Robbia. A painted mural by Filippo Lippi celebrates saints Helen, Rocco, Gerome, and Sebastian.

The bell tower was built in the 13th century. It rises over the southern transept of the building. The upper level of the tower was cut off in 1366 by the Doge of Pisa, Giovanni dell'Angello, because the bells were too loud.

The basilica is only a short walk from the Lucca train station. The nearest bus station is San Salvatore on the LAM Verde route.
8
Torre delle Ore (The Clock Tower)

8) Torre delle Ore (The Clock Tower)

Back in the Middle Ages, the towers of Lucca had been growing like mushrooms, with some collapses being rather commonplace. The towers were built higher and higher in the belief of their owners that the height equaled respect. In the 14th century, Castruccio Castracani, the Duke of Lucca, ordered a good number of them to be demolished.

Among the tallest towers still in place is the Clock Tower. Built in the 13th century, it stands 164 feet high on the corner of Via Fillungo and Via Dell'Arancio. Several families of the local nobility had owned the tower over the centuries, but it is better known for a dark legend involving a woman and the devil.

Lucida Mansi, a cruel beauty notorious for having killed her husband and many lovers after that, wanted to stay young forever. Mad at the sight of wrinkles on her face, she made a deal with the devil that would keep her young for the next thirty years, upon which he would claim her soul at the midnight of the 14th of August 1623.

Indeed, for the next three decades Lucida had enjoyed a fabulous life filled with extravagance, luxury, and numerous romances. People marveled at her youth whilst others grew old.

As the day of 14th of August 1623 drew nearer, Lucida grew more and more desperate. In a bid to stop the clock from chiming midnight, she climbed to the top of the tower but still failed to halt the bell strike, and so the devil took her soul.

There are 207 wooden steps within the tower leading to the clock mechanism. Entrance costs only a few euros, so it would be a shame not to see it.
9
Via Fillungo (Fillungo Street)

9) Via Fillungo (Fillungo Street)

The via Fillungo is the main shopping street in Lucca. It is about 2,300 feet in length and a width of 33 feet and it runs through the historic center of the city within the ancient walls.

It is named for the the Fillongo Castle in the Garfagnana district of Lucca, feudal home of the Falabrina family. The Falabrinas had feudal rights in the area. Houses cozy up to palaces along the via Fillungo. It is a crooked, medieval street.

Walking is the best way to see the walled city. The street has been effectively divided into three parts since ancient times. The Great Way starts from the Porta dei Borghi. As the via Mordini is reached, on the right, is the Piazza San Frediano and the old Basilica San Frediano. On the left is the circle of the ancient Roman amphitheater.

The "Panther", is the next part of the Street. It starts at the via Mordini and moves to the Plaza dei Mercanti. The third section of the road goes from the Piazza dei Mercanti to the Canto Arc. Here is the church of Santo Cristoforo, renovated in the 12th century.

Shops on the street are set into the buildings to minimize the architectural impact. The street is lined with shops and cafes. Many shops are of the "boutique" variety and may be a bit pricey. Except for occasional speeding bicycles, the walking is a pleasant, casual way to pick up local products, like buccellato.
10
Church of San Frediano

10) Church of San Frediano (must see)

In the 6th century AD, a church was built in Lucca dedicated to the Levites Vincenzo, Stefano and Lorenzo. Fredianus, an Irish pilgrim who became bishop of Lucca in 560 AD, gets credit for the construction. The Basilica today is built in the Romanesque style and it is located in the Piazza San Frediano.

In 1112 the church was rebuilt. It was reconsecrated in 1147 by Pope Eugene III. The church had three naves and an apse. The facade faced east. This was departure from the Dominican custom of facades facing west.

Sometime in the 13th century the central nave was raised and a wooden ceiling installed. In the same period the upper facade received a mosaic of the Ascension of Christ with angels and apostles around the Madonna. The Madonna image was later replaced by the center window.

In the 14th and 16th centuries chapels were built in the side aisles and the facade was extended. The three portals of the facade are marked by pillars under an architrave and blind arches. There is a loggia at the middle level with columns and two single lancet windows. The bell tower, near the apse, dates back to the 13th century.

Inside the church the aisles and nave are set off by columns with round arches. The center nave is high with a wooden truss ceiling.

The basilica is a short walk from the Ampitheater Square.
11
Porta dei Borghi (Village Gate)

11) Porta dei Borghi (Village Gate)

Porta dei Borghi is the oldest gateway in the medieval Walls of Lucca. It faces north and was built between 1198 and 1265; the gate was almost completely demolished during the construction of the Renaissance walls. The only other gate of the original four, remaining from the 13th-century circle, is Porta San Gervasio located at the top of Via Santa Croce.

Today Porta dei Borghi marks the end of Via Fillungo, and is incorporated in the more recent, 16th-17th-century fortification, not far from Porta Santa Maria, which in the second half of the 16th century assumed the role of main entrance to the city from the north. The gate has a single central opening (once there were two, but one is now walled up) with two towers on either side.

The two towers, in gray sandstone with white limestone decorations, originally had battlements and a walkway that linked them at the top. Both towers and the upper part of the gate are currently used as private homes.

The gate has a wide entrance, eight meters high, covered by a round arch. Inside there is an ancient fresco, framed by a lunette, depicting Madonna with the Child, restored in 2008 by the Municipality of Lucca.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
12
Pizzeria Da Gherardo

12) Pizzeria Da Gherardo

The Pizzeria Da Gherardo is also considered a restaurant as it offers a wide selection of traditional Italian dishes and wine. There are almost thirty different kinds of pizza on the menu. Customers can also choose cocktails, desserts, wine and different kinds of meals. Pizzeria Da Gherardo is located in one of the most famous squares in Lucca, called Piazza Anfiteatro. It is open from 10:00 am until 12:00 am.
13
Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (Amphitheater Square)

13) Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (Amphitheater Square) (must see)

The elliptical square used to be a Roman amphitheater. Built in the 1st century AD in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, it was originally outside the city walls. It was rather large, having fifty-four arches and a seating capacity of ten thousand. Public meetings as well as games and dramas were held in the arena.

In the 6th century AD, during the Gothic wars, the amphitheater became a defensive liability because of its size and position outside the city walls. The amphitheater was fortified by closing the outer arches. In time, other buildings used as houses, storage spaces or prisons were added to the structures around the arena.

During the middle ages the upper parts of the original amphitheater began to disappear. The materials taken were used in the constructions. The arena remained along with a ruined arch or two. Buildings enclosed the space, creating a de facto square. Most of these buildings were military storehouses or used to stock salt or such.

In the early 19th century, architect Lornzo Nottolini, was deeply involved in what was called the Great Project of Tuscany, including the urban renewal of Lucca. Nottolini was commissioned to restore and revive the Piazza based on the Roman ruins of the amphitheater.

Nottolini designed a new open square just as big as the original structure. It followed the elliptical shape of the arena exactly. It became an urban market center and space for open shops. In the early 20th century the official market was shifted to another area but the square continued to be called Market Square (Piazza del Maercato).

The square can be entered only through one of its four doorways. The lowest one of these is part of the original structure of the amphitheater. To enter the market square is to follow in the steps of the Lucchese from ancient times until now.
14
Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower)

14) Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower) (must see)

The Guinigi Tower is easy to spot. It is a square tower of bright red brick. It rises to a height of 125 feet and there are Holm oak trees growing on the roof. There is a need to climb the tower, sit in the shade of aged oaks and look out over the ancient city of Lucca. Alert: this urge is irresistible.

The Guinigi Tower was built in 1384. The Guinigis were rich from the silk trade that passed through Lucca at the time. Once Lucca had as many as 250 such towers. Only nine remained after the warlord Castruccio Castracani ordered them demolished. This was in the 14th century, the interesting time of plagues, raids, violence. It was a time for towers.

The towers were not only havens and defensive assets, they were symbols of wealth and power and respect. Every player had to have one. At least one. When Castracani died, the Guinigi took over the city. They would keep their Tower of Power forever.

In 1805 Napoleon ruled in Tuscany. He gave the region to his sister, Elisa, making her the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. It is because of her the walls of the Tower were maintained. It is possible to visit the tower. It is 230 steps up to the observation deck. The original stairs were on the outside. Now they are inside. It's a small mercy.

Of course there are legends about the tower. If one climbs to the top in the evening, one may see a ghostly lady sitting under an oak tree with her pet dog. This is the lady Ilaria, the deceased wife of Paolo Guinigi. If she smiles at you, your heart is pure. If not, well...

The tower is open to the public for a modest fee. Reach the top and the amazing panorama of Lucca will unravel at your feet.
15
Porta San Gervasio (St. Gervasio's Gate)

15) Porta San Gervasio (St. Gervasio's Gate)

Porta San Gervasio is one of the four gates from the 13th century that once formed part of the Walls of Lucca. It was almost completely demolished during the construction of the Renaissance walls (the latter still visible today); the only other similar gate still in place is Porta dei Borghi, located on Via Fillungo.

Also known as dell'Annunziata (the Annunciation gate), Porta San Gervasio was completed in 1255 and was dedicated to Saints Gervasio and Protasio.

The gate has a wide opening, eight meters high, covered by a round arch; the inner lunette carries the image of Madonna and the Child, with two kneeling Saints (probably Gervasio and Protasio) and two Angels uncovering the curtain, as well as a fragment of San Giovannino at the foot of the Virgin.

The two towers, made of gray sandstone with white limestone decorations, originally had battlements and a walkway connecting them at the top. Back in the day, the gate had a drawbridge over a moat; the latter is still preserved and runs opposite Via del Fosso.

Today the two towers are used as private residences. In the top left one, seen from Via del Fosso, Italo Meschi (1887-1957), the guitarist, poet and anarchist-pacifist once lived; while in the right-hand tower, his cousin, painter Alfredo Meschi (1905-1981), had a studio.

The gate underwent restoration in 2006-2007.
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