Lucca

We stayed for a week at a villa in Capannori which was an hour west of Florence. Several evenings we went into Lucca for dinner and to explore.

Lucca is a city on the Serchio river. It is known for its Rennaissance stone walls that surround it. The tops of the walls are very wide and lined with trees and is a great place to walk or cycle. There are several bike rental shops throughout town.

Lucca is also the home of the opera composer Puccini. The house he was born in is now a museum and nightly there are concerts at San Giovanni where they perform different works of his each night. We listened to The Women of Puccini the night we were there. The church itself is small but very nice inside and the sound is excellent.

One of the main spots in Lucca is the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. It is a round shaped piazza with restaurants around the inside that all offer outdoor seating. It is a great place to rest in the afternoon and have a glass of wine and watch the people and horse carriages wander around.

Two restaurants that we like for dinner are Ammodonostro and Trattoria Da Nonna Clara. Ammodonostro has a beautiful small walled patio out back surrounded by flowers that is very comforting. At Nonna Clara’s you can sit outside by the piazza or dine inside if you like.

There are two churches of note in Lucca. The first is Chiesa di San Michele in Foro, built in the 12th-century with a wedding cake-like facade and painting by Lippi. There is a beautiful statue of an angel on the right corner of the church that is incredible.

The second church is St Martin Cathedral, an 11th century medieval church with a large square bell tower. There is also a treasury museum inside that you can visit. There are of course other churches that you can visit, but these two are at the top of the list.

For the best views of the city, there are two towers that can be climbed. The first is Torre delle Ore and the other is Guinigi Tower. Both offer great views but the original thing about Guinigi Tower is that there is a tree growing out of the top. Each one is a hike to get to the top but well worth it.

Coupling an evening in Lucca with a morning in Pisa is a great way to see two wonderful cities in the same day. I’d definitely revisit Lucca in the future as I’m sure there is more to see that we missed in the few evening we spent there.