Tag Archives: San Luca Palace Hotel

ITALY #11: LOVELY LUCCA (CONTINUED)

Posted on by
2

Although Bruce and I had walked several streets of Lucca’s historic city center as well as the wall surrounding it, having a guided walking tour was a wonderful way to get a more in-depth look at this beautiful city.

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

Take the perimeter walls, for example.  I knew they dated back to the 1500’s, but I didn’t know the walls were once hollow and filled in the early 1800’s.  Then, in the 1900’s, car races were held on them! The walls are no longer a race track, but they are used for walking, running, and cycling.

The San Luca Palace Hotel, where we were staying, also had some interesting history.  Back in the 1200’s, it was a hospital.  After being abandoned and sitting empty for a very long time, it was renovated and opened as a hotel in 1999.  The building across the street was also part of the hospital, and the original sign can still be seen on the wall stating it was built in 1257.

Within the walls of Lucca, although the population is only about 10,000, there are 100 churches, although most of them are currently used for other purposes.  Why would such a small population need so many churches?  Our guide, Simone, explained those churches once served as a place people could come for assistance when they made the pilgrimage to see the Holy Face of Lucca at the Duomo di San Martino (Cathedral of Saint Martin).  So many people had made that pilgrimage that the cathedral was overwhelmed.  The churches provided shelter and a place to recharge spiritually and physically.

Simone with a photo of the Holy Face of Lucca, the sacred wooden crucifix

Originally built in 1063, the front of the cathedral was rebuilt in 1204.

As we continued our walk, we noticed that many of the buildings had plaster facades with some exposed brick showing, much like we saw in Bologna and Parma.  Originally, the buildings of historic Lucca were made of brick; however, they have been covered with plaster and painted with warm colors as a way to unify and brighten the town.

These are scenes from our walking tour and our afternoon of free time:

San Michele in Foro
Exterior of Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro
Piazza Dell’ Anfiteatro:This photo is a big fuzzy due to the panorama mode malfunctioning on my camera, but I wanted to give you an idea of the piazza’s charm.
This is a picture I took when I visited Lucca in 2007. It was in the morning before the square got busy with tourists and the local lunch crowd.
Our guide, Simone with our tour leader, Ben.
We stopped in at Il Mercatino for some made-to-order paninis. After pointing to the ingredients we wanted for our custom sandwiches, the sandwiches were weighed and priced accordingly. I opted for pecorino cheese and sun-dried tomatoes; Bruce added meat. The sandwiches were so delicious and filling; and, they only cost about $7.50 for both!
Dessert that night at…
…Trattoria Da Giulio

Coming up next: FABULOUS FLORENCE

ITALY #9: LOVELY LUCCA

Posted on by
Reply

For the six of us who traveled the past several days with Oscar as our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tour leader, our arrival to Lucca marked the end of the pre-extension tour and the beginning of the base trip, Tuscany & Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland.  Bruce and I had enjoyed our time with Oscar very much, so we didn’t want to say goodbye.  He assured us that our new tour leader, Ben, was the best, and we would like him.  After all, he had been trained by Ben, the senior tour leader for OAT in Italy.

Upon our arrival at San Luca Palace Hotel, we said our Ciao’s to Oscar and were introduced to Ben.  Yeah, Oscar was right; Ben seemed like a nice enough guy!

One step into our hotel room, and we both said, “Wow!”  The room was huge (and very Italian!) and the bathroom quite nice.  The location was perfect—situated within the walled historic city and close to everything.  Ben gave us a brief orientation tour, and then we explored on our own, taking advantage of the beautiful day and our free time, before meeting up with the other nine incoming travelers joining the tour.

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

The view from our room window

Although I had been to Lucca previously, it was sixteen years ago while on a cruise shore excursion, and the walking tour just wasn’t enough; I wanted to see more.  I had never forgotten Lucca, and it was one of the reasons I was drawn to this tour’s itinerary.

How wonderful to walk its streets again! 

San Michele in Foro
Giacomo Puccini, the great composer was born in Lucca

Lucca is known for several things: Its Renaissance-era city walls, well-preserved city center, the Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro (which dates back to the 1st century A.D.); and, the great composer, Giacomo Puccini, who was born in Lucca along with several other world-class composers.  Lucca is also known for making paper—everything from toilet paper to high-quality writing paper.  Additionally, the city of 89,000 hosts a fabulous summer music festival as well as a comics and games festival.

We were scheduled to take a walking tour the following day with a local guide; however, it would have to wait another day due to a schedule switch.  (We will return to Lucca in Italy #11.)

Coming up next (instead): CARRARA MARBLE QUARRIES & A HOME-HOSTED LUNCH