Lucca Area Information

Lucca is an historic walled town in north east Tuscany dating back many centuries. The old town is completely encompased by a massive wall along which people can promenade or cycle and stare down at the wondrous buildings in the centre. This is a super location to rent a Tuscany holiday apartmnet in the old town centre or, if you prefer a quieter life, a lovely Tuscan holiday villa in the hills surrounding the Lucca Plain.

The origins of Lucca come from a Celto-Roman word ;Luk' which means 'marshy place'. Rome was the first to colonise Lucca back in the second century BC. In fact the structure of the streets still resembles that on a Roman encampment. In the middle ages the town developed a netwrok of narrow and uneven alleys and uneven shaped squares. In the 12th and 13th centuries Lucca became a free townand enjoyed prosperous growth.

The centre of the town is Piazza Napoleone along the west side of which lies the impressive Palazzo Ducale. Most of the streets are pedestrianised (traffic from residents)and it fels like wlaking back in history. There are many lovely sghops and quality restaurants as well as bars, cafes, gelateria and historic churches, palazzi, piazzas and much more.

You can spend several days enjoying the old town and use the location as a base to visit other northern Tuscan locations such as San Miniato, San Gimignano, Volterra, Pisa and Florence. We suggest just strolling along the streets without a plan so that you can discover the many sites. The church of San Michele in Foro has a lovely Tuscan facade and is well worth seeing. The birthplace and home of Puccini is located at Casa Natale di Giacomo Puccini in Corte San Lorenzo. You can also visit the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi which is a 17th century building containing paintings from the Medici dynasty.

Whatever your reason to visit you can rent a Tuscany villa in the area surrounding Lucca or a Tuscany apartment in the old town centre.

Lucca Apartments & Villas