Lucca

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Photography, Travel

Tags

Daytrips from Firenze, Daytrips from Siena, Italian history, Lucca, Torre Guinigi, Toscana, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Lucca is one of my favourite smaller cities in Italia. While writing my last post, I realized that I have not yet dedicated a whole post to Lucca! Founded by the Etruscans as Luk, meaning marsh, Lucca became a Roman colony in 180 BC. In the 12^th-13^th centuries, the silk trade and banking were responsible for economic development and population increase. Lucca was an independent republic for 500 years, until Italian unification. Today the population is 88,000 and Lucca has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.

Lucca does not have 1 or 2 monumental sites-the city itself is the attraction! Lucca is best known for the well preserved, intact Renaissance walls encircling it. The complex defense network is still mostly intact, 12 m high and 30 m wide, with 6 porte – entrance gates and 10 ramparts. The only thing missing is the moat, which was filled in the 1800’s.

On top of the walls is Via delle Mura Urbane, a wide 4.2 km tree lined pathway that is popular for walking, cycling and running. When entering Lucca, the 16^th C walls from can be seen from below. Bike rentals are available near most of the entry gates.

Lucca has a real ‘lived in’ feel to it. Walking through one of the gate tunnels is like stepping back in time. Lucca is flat, with a random street layout. Most of the centro storico is pedestrian only and full of biciclette to photograph. The streets are narrow and flanked by tall, narrow buildings. The many towers and other landmarks are often not visible from below, so it is easy and fun to get lost among the historic architecture and cobblestone streets. Lucca

The main street, Via Fillungo has beautiful storefronts and buildings. It connects Piazza Anfiteatro and Piazza San Michele. Piazza Anfiteatro’s oval shape is the ‘ghost’ of the 10,000 seat Roman amphitheater that once stood there. Entrance to the piazza is through brick tunnels.The stones were looted to build other structures, but the tall buildings in shades of yellow and cream with green shutters were built following the shape of the former amphitheater.

As in San Gimignano, defense towers were a status symbol for Lucca’s wealthy families in the 1300’s. Lucca’s skyline has several towers, the most famous being the 45 m Romanesque Gothic red brick Torre Guinigi. Built in 1384 by the Guinigi family of silk merchants, the tower is 45 m tall with 7 Holm Oak trees growing on top, symbolizing rebirth. The rooftop was originally used for dining, with the kitchen on the floor below. Imagine carrying dishes the 232 steps to the top! Admission is €5 single/ €8 family. A 2 day combination ticket can also be purchased that includes Torre delle Ore and Orto Botanico

At 50m Torre delle Ore is the tallest tower in Lucca. It started as a personal defensive tower, and when defense was no longer needed, it was turned into a clock in 1390. The present clock mechanism is from the 1700’s. It even has its own resident ghost legend-in 1623, a Lucchese woman who had sold her soul to the devil ran up to the top to try to stop time, but she didn’t make it. Climb the top to see rooftop Lucca and the best views of Torre Guinigi. In the photo below you can see Torre delle Ore and the campanile of San Martino.

Lucca has over 70 churches. The Gothic/Pisan Romanesque church of San Martino was started in 1070. It has a mismatched 14^th C campanile-the top is white like the church, but the lower half is red quartz stone. The church façade has 3 levels of open arches and each of the 37 columns are different. There was a contest for the design of the columns and each artist submitted one. Instead of awarding a winner, all of the columns were used without paying the artists. Che furbi! San Martino is home to the famous relic, a cedar crucifix known as il Volto Santo di Lucca (the holy face) and works of art by Jacopo della Quercia, Ghirlandaio and Tintoretto.

Like much of Lucca, the church of San Michele in Foro was built on a much earlier structure. Piazza San Michele was formerly the Roman Forum. The façade has 4 rows of ornate arches and columns, similar to San Martino. I do not think artists contributed these columns for free! San Michele has works by Tuscan superstars Luca della Robbia and Filippino Lippi.

The oldest church in Lucca, 6th C San Frediano has a beautiful golden mosaic façade.

Lucca is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, and the house where he was born is now Museo Puccini. Admission is €7. If you are in Lucca in the evening, it is common to hear music coming from churches, piazze and the opera house Teatro del Giglio.

Lucca is beautiful to visit any time of the year……except for the first week of November! Unless you are attending, avoid visiting during Lucca Comics and Games. Lucca is NW of Firenze, closer to Pisa. The train station is right across the street from Porta San Pietro, one of the entry gates, making Lucca an easy day trip -90min from Firenze and 30 min from Pisa. Lucca really deserves a few days of its own though, and also makes a great base to see the rest of Toscana.

The photos in this post were taken on 4 separate visits over a 15 year period, which explains the dramatic weather fluctuations!

Lucca is also mentioned in the posts Viaggio con Isabella and Autunno in Italia

Photos of San Martino and San Frediano from wikimedia commons.

Buon viaggio, Cristina

San Gimignano

15 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Firenze, Italia, Photography, Travel

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Dante Alighieri, Firenze, Italian history, Italy travel tips, San Gimignano, Siena, Torre Grossa, Toscana, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Vernaccia di San Gimignano

San Gimignano’s skyline looks like a Medieval Metropolis, complete with early grattacieli (grat•tah•chee•EH•lee = skyscrapers). It was known as San Gimignano delle belle Torri -San Gimignano of the beautiful towers. The site was an Etruscan settlement, then a castello called Silvia with a walled village built around it. Silvia was renamed San Gimignano in 450 after the Bishop of Modena, who spared it from Attila the Hun’s troops.

San Gimignano became an independent town in 1199. It was prosperous, being a stopping point on La Via Francigena, the medieval pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Roma, via France. San Gimignano also traded in local zafferano (zaf•fer•RAN•noh = saffron) and wine from the white Vernaccia grape. The earliest mention of Vernaccia di San Gimignano is in the archives of 1276! In 1966, 690 years later, it was the first Italian vino bianco to receive DOC recognition.

The 13 and 14^th Centuries saw San Gimignano caught in the Guelph/Ghibelline conflicts. Read about this in Dante’s post. Wealthy San Gimignanesi built tower houses as symbols of power and wealth, as well as for protection. The height of these torri kept increasing, up to 70m high, to keep up with the neighbors. There were originally 72 torri and 14 still stand today.

Waves of plague and famine hit San Gimignano in the mid 1300’s. The ‘black death’ claimed almost half the population, and San Gimignano was now under the rule of Firenze. Fiorentino control prevented any urban development that happened in other towns. As a result, San Gimignano was preserved in a medieval ‘time warp’, retaining its original atmosphere and appearance. Little changed until the 19^th century when it became a tourism destination. Today the population is 7800 and it does have 1 traffic light! To protect San Gimignano from the effects of mass tourism, strict rules prevent modification to the appearance or intended use of buildings.

Bancomat Medievale/Medieval Bank Machine!

In 1990, the Historic Center of San Gimignano became a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding examples of medieval architecture and original urban layout.

The Cattedrale know as La Collegiata, has Masterpieces of 14^th and 15^th Century art. Inside the front façade is the Fresco of Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell by Taddeo di Bartolo (1393). The Cappella di Santa Fina with frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1475) was featured in the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli film ‘Tea with Mussolini’.

In the Palazzo Comunale is the Sala di Dante where Dante Alighieri spoke as an ambassador for the Guelphs in May 1300. The Pinacoteca has treasures by Filippino Lippi, among others. Climb the 218 steps of the adjacent 54m Torre Grossa for views of San Gimignano and the Val d’Elsa. Admission is €6.

Piazza della Cisterna is triangular with a well on an octagonal pedestal in the center, surrounded by medieval buildings. It is named for the underground cistern built in 1287 which was the main source of water for the San Gimignanesi. Piazza della Cisterna is the meeting point of the Via Francigena and the road from Pisa to Siena, so it was a happening place in medieval times.

Piazza della Cisterna, seen from Torre Grossa

San Gimignano is an easy daytrip on the bus from Firenze, Siena or Poggibonsi. There is no direct train. The train route is to change trains at Empoli to Poggibonsi and then bus from there. It’s also nice to be there in the evening or overnight when all of the daytrippers have left.

Like Alberobello, no matter how many hordes of tourists it is overrun with, San Gimignano is incantevole (een•can•teh•VOH•leh = enchanting) and definitely worth a visit. I need to go back to do ‘research’, since I have a drawer full of unfinished sketches, monotypes and etchings!

Buon Viaggio, Cristina