We had planned two day trips for our time in Tuscany and the first was to the walled city of Lucca. The Passeggiata delle Mura Urbane (urban wall) encircles the city and has a pedestrian walkway on top that is just over 4 kilometres long. Many people who visit Lucca choose to rent a bicycle and ride around the wall, Henrik and I choose to walk as we would be able to enjoy the views more. We saw the bell tower of the Duomo di San Martino, that to Henrik “looks like it had been dipped in icing sugar” as well as the Palazzo Pfanner and it’s stunning garden.
After the wall walk we decided to head into town and see the enclosed Piazza Anfiteatro in the northeast quadrant of the city. Before reaching the Piazza however, we stumbled upon a canal that had a water tap where residents could fill their bottles (so we did it too as the walk had depleted our supply). The water was cool and very tasty. After a quick stop at the Pam Local (Henrik’s favourite grocery store) we had the supplies for our picnic lunch. After lunch, we made our way through the winding streets of Lucca and found ourselves at the Piazza San Michele with a fantastic view of the Cathedral. It was time for a cold beer and some salty snacks. We enjoyed a good hour of people watching, then poked our noses into the church before deciding to make our way to the Aqueduct a little outside of the city walls.
Passing though the large southern gate (Porta San Pietro) we saw the old portcullis and looked for evidence of where the drawbridge would have been; apparently the niches filled with lion statues (see photo in gallery below) was where the chains came out from the old wall. Once outside the walls we made our way over the train tracks and the aqueduct. It was a long hot day, but we enjoyed ourselves. Trenitalia took us back to Florence.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://[2600:1f13:e3b:9100:ae18:b451:18d2:e990]/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/resize_IMG_7740.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]Lion on the Wall of Lucca – reminded us of our dog friend named after this great city.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://[2600:1f13:e3b:9100:ae18:b451:18d2:e990]/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/resize_IMG_7751.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]Panoramic view of the Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery” gallery_ids=”1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1917,1918,1919,1921,1923,1925,1926,1927,1928,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939″ fullwidth=”off” orientation=”landscape” show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” background_layout=”light” auto=”off” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
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