Day trip to Lucca

Less than half an hour away by car, Lucca makes the ideal half-day excursion from Pisa, or so we found when staying at the Hotel San Ranieri. Take the SS12 northward through San Guiliano Terme, then a series of hairpin bends up to a short road tunnel and you will soon be there.

To minimise the amount of city driving required, I parked at a large car and coach park just off the inner ring road (turn right off the SS12, then first right off the ring road, the Viale Giosuè Carducci). The parking charge was a reasonable €1/hour.

The old city is fully enclosed within mediæval walls and laid out in a grid pattern, making it relatively easy to navigate. At its centre is the church of San Michele in Foro, which looked very dramatic against a darkening sky.

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Lucca is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, composer of Tosca, Turandot and many other staples of the opera house. I wished we had time to look around the museum in Via di Poggio secondo dedicated to his memory; that said, his legacy is the music he wrote rather than the desk at which he sat.

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Continuing westwards, we arrived at the ramparts and then walked along them around the north side of the city. The elevated position gave us a lovely view of the city as the sun was setting.

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Coming down from there pas the Basilica di San Frediano, we made our way to the Piazza Amfiteatro, one of the must-sees of the city. It’s on a much smaller scale than the Piazza del Campo in Siena but very pretty. Aerial shots best give the sense of its unusual ellipsoid design but these are only to be had from postcards.

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Lucca’s cathedral, dedicated to San Martino, took a little bit of finding in the darkness but looked beautiful with the moon rising behind it. I had to wait a few minutes before taking my photo while runners and walkers streamed past in what was looked like a popular local charity race.

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There is certainly more to see in Lucca. Had we found it earlier, we would have looked around the cathedral and the Torre del Orologio. Even so, if you are staying nearby and don’t have a full day available, Lucca is well worth a visit.