Lucca

Lucca is the capital of the Province of Lucchesia and is one of the richest areas in Tuscany for history, tradition and culture.
The area offers an extraordinary variety of interesting tourist destinations from Versilia on the Tyrrhenian coast, where there are international seaside resorts such as Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi, to Garfagnana renowned for its natural beauty in the apuan Alps, to the hills overlooking Lucca where wine and olive oil abound together with some of the most beautiful and historically renowned homes in Tuscany.
Lucca, is one of the most ancient towns of Etruria with its rich cultural and mercantile heritage and boasts a unique town centre which is completely enclosed by monumental walls which date back to the 1500th century. The Wall, whilst not being quite as well known as the Great Wall of China, is a spectacular fortification. There are also churches, of course, monuments and the gardens of the great villas.
Lucca is the perfect starting point for anyone wishing to visit the other famous cities and towns in Tuscany and in the neighbouring regions.
A well developed motorway network connects Lucca to Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Cortona, perugia, Assisi, s.Gemignano, Volterra, Montecatini, Pisa, Viareggio, Lerici and the Island of Elba.
For those who come to Italy by air: Direction Airport Galileo Galilei (Pisa): 0039-50-582200; air information: 0039-50-500707
Guide to the museums of Lucca
(with the collaboration of the APT)

National museum of Guinigi Villa by of the Quarquonia Lucca.

Tel. 0039-583-46033

Schedule: work and festive hours 9-14; closed Monday, Christmas, 1 January and 1 May. An admission charge is made

National museum of Mansi Palace by Galli Tassi, 43 Lucca.
Tel. 0039-583-55570
Schedule: work: 9-19- festive hours 9-14; closed Monday, Christmas, 1 January and 1 May, admission charge

Museum of the Cathedral by Lucca archbishop's palace.
Tel. 0039-583-490530
Hourly May-October 9.30-18, November-April 10-13, 15-18. Entry to payment. Visits drive for groups with obligatory booking
ARCHAEOLOGICAL

Civic museum of the Territory of Barga
Pretorio palace, Arringo from Cathedral (Barga) [tel]. 0039-583-711100
Schedule: work 10.30-12.30; Sunday: 10.30-12.30, 15-17 In the months of July and August: 10.30-12.30- 16-30-19 Closed Monday. An admission charge is made
Civic museum of archaeological finds and ceramics of Camporgiano
S.Giacomo plaza - Camporgiano
Visits on appointment phoning the commune of Camporgiano 0039-583-618888.
Free entry

Archaeological museum of the Territory
Castelnuovo Garfagnana; for information 0039-583-62746
HISTORICAL MUSEUMS

House Christmas of James Puccini to Lucca and House of the Puccini to Cells of Pescaglia
Lucca: S.Lorenzo Court, 9 (Via di Poggio)
tel.0039-583-584028 Schedule: from July 1 at 31 o'clock August hours 10-13, 15-19; from September 1 at 15 o'clock November: hours 10-13, 15-18; from November 16 at 31 o'clock December hours 10-13; closed Monday. An admission charge is made

House of the Puccini to Puccini Cells (Pescaglia)
tel. 0039-583-359154
Schedule: Saturday and Sunday hours 15-19; the other days on booking. An admission charge is made.

House Joannes Pascoli (poet)
Castelvecchio Pastures- Barga Tel.0039-583-766147
Summer schedule: 10-13, 15-18.30 Closed Monday, an admission charge is made

Museum of the Risorgimento (Courtyard of the Swiss, Lucca)
Visiting strictly upon application with at least two days notice.

Tel. 0039-583-91636/955765; Free entry
ETHNOGRAPHICAL MUSEUMS

Provincial EtHnografic museum "Wandering Don Luigi"
S.Pellegrino in Alpe- Castiglione of Garfagnana
Tel. And fax: 0039-583-649072.
Schedule: from June 15 at 15 o'clock September hours 9.30-13/ 14.30-19; from September 16 at 14 o'clock June hours 9-12/ 14-17. Closed Monday. Open all days long in the months of July and August. An admission charge is made.

Museum of Chalk Figurines
By of the Mangle, 17, by Vanni Palace (Coreglia Antelminelli)
Tel. 0039-583-78082
Summer work schedule 8-13; festive 10-13/ 16-19. Schedule winter hours 8-13.
An admission charge is made.
On application a local artisan shows the phases of creation of a statuette in chalk in laboratory prepared in the plain basement of the Museum

The other museums:
The Museum of the Countryside of the plain of Lucca where you can book a chauffered visit
(tel. 0039-583-935808/ 935494)

Museum of the chestnut tree
on appointment to Colognora of Pescaglia; festive days 15-18;
tel. 0039-583-358159/ 954465
NATURALISTIC MUSEUMS:

Botanical Town garden in by of the Botanical Garden, 14
tel. 0039-583-442160 (fax.442161) Schedule: April-October from Tuesaday to Saturday hours 9-13; Sunday: 9-13, 15.30-18.30; closed Monday.

Botanical museum
"Caesar Bicchi" in by S.Micheletto with free entry only upon booking,
tel. 0039-583-442160
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The Rough Guide says this about Lucca:
Lucca is as graceful a provincial capital as they come, set inside a thick swathe of Renaissance walls, and with a quiet, almost entirely medieval street plan. Palazziand the odd tower dot the streets, at intervals overlooked by a brilliantly decorated Romanesque facade. It's not exactly undiscovered, but for once the number of tourists seems to fit.
The most enjoyable way to get your bearings is to follow the path around the top of the Walls - nearly 4km in extent and built with genuine defensive capability in the early sixteenth century, before being transformed to their present, garden aspect by the Bourbon ruler, Marie Louise. In the centre of town, just east of the main Piazza Napoleone on Piazza San Martino, the Duomo of San Martino (closed 3.30-6.30pm) was in part sculpted by Nicola Pisano, though sadly recent years have seen his sculptures covered for restoration, along with virtually all the high points of the great hall-like interior, which include paintings by Tintoretto, Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. The most famous item, Jacopo della Quercia's Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, has been restored so vigorously that one expert declared it had been ruined - prompting a libel action from the restorer. Lucca's finest sculptor was perhaps Matteo Civitali, whose Tempietto in the north aisle was sculpted to house the city's most famous and lucrative relic, the Volto Santo ("Holy Face") - said to be the "true effigy of Christ" and the focus for international pilgrimage.
Northwest of the Duomo across Via Fililungo, the facade of San Michele in Foro church is a triumph of eccentricity, each of its loggia columns different, some twisted, others sculpted or candy-striped. The interior is relatively plain, though there's a good Andrea della Robbia terracotta and a painting by Filippino Lippi. Giacomo Puccini was born almost opposite at Via di Poggio 30, and his home, the Casa di Puccini (April-Sept Tues-Sun 10am-1pm & 3-6pm; Oct-March Tues-Sun 11am-1pm & 3-5pm; L3000), is now a school of music with a small museum, featuring the Steinway piano on which he composed Turandot, along with original scores and photographs from premieres. At the end of the street in Via Galli Tassi is the seventeenth-century Palazzo Mansi, which houses a Pinacoteca Nazionale (Tues-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-2pm; L8000), an indifferent collection of pictures, although the Rococo palace itself is a sight, at its most extreme in a spectacularly gilded bridal suite.
Northeast of here, the basilica of San Frediano has a facade with a brilliant thirteenth-century mosaic of Christ in Majesty and fine treasures inside, most enjoyable of which is the font carved with Romanesque scenes of Moses, the Good Shepherd and Apostles; set behind it is a ceramic Annunciation by Andrea della Robbia.
Be sure to visit the remarkable Piazza Anfiteatro, a circuit of medieval buildings whose foundations are the arches of the Roman amphitheatre. Just southeast, the strangest sight in Lucca is perhaps the Casa Guinigi (March-Sept daily 9am-7.30pm; Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-Feb 10am-2.40pm; L4500), the fifteenth-century home of Lucca's leading family, with a battlemented tower surmounted by holm oaks whose roots have grown into the room below. Much of it is being restored, but from Via San Andrea you can climb it for one of the best views over the city. Across the narrow canal on Via della Quarquonia, the fifteenth-century Villa Guinigi is now the home of Lucca's major museum of art and sculpture, the Museo Nazionale Guingini (April-Sept Tues-Sun 9am-7pm; Oct-March 9am-2pm; L4000), with a good deal of lively Romanesque sculpture from the city and some good work by the cathedral's maestro, Matteo Civitali.
Practicalities
The train station is just outside the city walls to the south, an easy walk or short bus ride to the centre. The tourist office is on the north side of Piazza Verdi (daily summer 9am-7pm; winter 9am-2pm), a swish affair with plenty of information. Piazza S. Quinico 1. For excellent pizza, with good beer, try the Gli Orti di Via Elisa, Via Elisa 17, or Salette, Piazza S. Maria 15, a big friendly place with tables outside.