Lucca overview

Lucca is the perhaps the most civilized Tuscan city, a picture postcard of soft hued hills criss-crossed by battlements and Roman roads which thankfully today remain almost vehicle-free around the historic old centre. Lucca is best seen by bicycle, and busy summer days will make you feel more in Beijing than Italy, as the entire town seems to clamber aboard two-wheelers, cruising lazily down the wide city promenades. Famed as the home of Puccini and Boccherini, the musical history of the town is no less impressive than its religious past – Lucca was the first Tuscan city to adopt Christianity. An essential stopover on the pilgrim trail, Lucca boasts quality dining and handsome churches. Mercifully untouched by a succession of wars the only battle today is for space with cumbersome guidebook and camera laden tourists.