… to Lucca …

… a historic walled city pre-dating the Romans, possibly back to the Paleolithic era. In the 3rd century BC Lucca became a well-known Roman square. Caesar, Crassus and Pompey met at in Lucca in 56BC to re-energize their alliance, and in 89AD it became a Roman municipality. Its historic center is almost totally intact, as well as its surrounding walls. The city’s structure is based on both Roman and medieval models; the city’s streets were laid out by the Romans, and the glut of new buildings in the Middle Ages created a complex array of interconnecting alleys, passageways, courtyards, etc. This makes it a fascinating city to visit.

We visited Lucca two days in a row. On Friday, we had limited time because we needed to pick Mia up at the train station at 5:30pm, so on Saturday, the three of us took a longer look. Car traffic in Lucca is very limited, so we parked outside the imposing city walls and walked through the Santa Maria entrance. We walked along the original Roman north/south street, stopping at San Michele basilica, built on the site of the ancient Roman forum in 795, rebuilt in 1070, with a façade from the 13th century. On Saturday this square was the site of a demonstration on violence against women, using shoes and empty chairs to signify the numbers of women killed by domestic violence. An old church with new causes …

   

Many of the sights to see in Italy are religious; we toured the Duomo of St. Martin, begun in 1063, and its Museum. The Duomo contains the most sacred relic in Lucca, the Volto Santo (Sacred Countenance). According to legend, this cedarwood crucifix was carved by Christ’s contemporary, Nicodemus, and given to Lucca in 782. The Museum displays elaborate silver accessories made for this oversized statue, including shoes, crown, collar, necklace, etc. One of the Duomo’s portico columns is engraved with a labyrinth, which is a symbol for Lucca and found on many souvenirs; this maze is thought to be earlier than and similar to that of Chartres. The Duomo also contains outstanding artworks.

  

Other notable things to do and see in Lucca include a visit to the charming round piazza, on the site of the ancient Roman ampitheater; here it is seen through an arch. The ampitheater used to be outside the city walls. We also toured the Roman House, found recently ten meters below the palace later built on the site. An intact gutter for wastewater was found under the first floor, directing that water into the street. Inquiring minds wanted to know …

  

We spent time walking through, beside and on top of the city wall, which had a small moat for additional protection.

   

I would definitely recommend Lucca as a must-see city while in Tuscany. In addition to the sights I’ve mentioned, there are many more, as well as wonderful restaurants and great shopping. We found the prices for meals and souvenirs was quite reasonable.

After picking Mia up on Friday, we took a long ride up the side of another nearby and steep mountain to Fobbia’s, a restaurant owned by the cousin of a friend of Mia’s. The restaurant was cozy and the food typically Tuscan, with lots of wild boar on the menu. On the way there, we drove past a fenced wild boar area with warning signs, and a farm raising wild-boar-hunting dogs. They really are delicious…

When we got back to the hotel on Friday night, the hotel entrance road was blocked by cars lining up for the running of the 2013 Il Ciocco e Valle del Serchio rally Saturday morning, starting at 6:30am. We took a picture from the terrace of the parking lot with the numbered cars. The starting line is on the hotel’s access road. This rally is the 36th running, and opens the Italian Rally Championships as the first of eight races on the 2013 rally calendar. It involves 120 kilometers run against the clock over terrain that is “demanding for both vehicle and crew.” Frank and I can personally attest to the truth of that statement!