The beautiful town of Lucca was once one of Tuscany's better kept secrets and although this is no longer the case, it still does not attract the hordes of visitors, which throng the streets of Siena or Pisa. While the latter, along with so many other cities in Tuscany, fell, for centuries, under the yoke of Florence, Lucca managed to maintain its independence until as late as 1799.
The city began life as a Roman camp in the second century BC and its layout is preserved in the centre of the city. On the northern edge of the camp, just outside its walls, stood an amphitheatre, whose elliptical form has been preserved in the layout of the houses. The amphitheatre, the remains of which lie three metres underground, was built between 70 and 90 and could hold 10,000 spectators.
In the centuries following the end of the Roman Empire it was used as a quarry, when most of its stone and marble was plundered for use elsewhere. People then built densely packed houses on what was left of the structure. The piazza, which we see today, was created in 1830 by the architect, LorenzoNottolini, who pulled down the few houses in the middle of the arena and then made uniform the lower storey of houses, leaving intact the wide variety of upper storeys. Few elements of the original structure remain, but the entrance on the eastern side is one example.
The city is encircled by a beautifully preserved set of walls, which in turn are surrounded by a low range of mountains. The discovery of new ballistic engines and gunpowder at the beginning of the 15th century rendered useless the old town walls. The present walls were begun in the middle of the 16th century and were completed a hundred years later in 1650. The financial strain on the town was very great. To give you an idea of the amount of work and the cost, there are a total of 6 million bricks in the external covering alone. The walls are 4.2km in length, 30m wide at the base and the scarp wall is 12m high. The walls were then surrounded by a 35m wide moat. In addition, all the buildings were destroyed within a wide range from the walls to deprive any potential enemy of support. On the town side it was forbidden to build near the walls.
Ironically, by the time the walls were completed, all the major threats to the city had evaporated, and were never used to fend off any aggressors. In the first half of the 19th century they were transformed into the delightful and spacious tree lined boulevards we see today. This is where the good citizens of the town enjoy their traditional passeggiata or evening stroll.
The Cathedral of SanMartino
The Gothic style didn't make much of an impact in Lucca, hence the large number of Romanesque churches in the city. One of the most beautiful, at least from the outside, is the cathedral.
Dedicated to Saint Martin, it was begun in the 12th century and completed, three hundred years later, in the 15th century. In spite of the amount of work and time that was invested, the facade remains unfinished, lacking the top row of loggias and the tympanum. It is also wonderfully asymmetric, in that the right portal is smaller than its neigbours, as the builders had to take into account the pre-existing campanile.
The facade is carved with the most intricate details. On the column nearest the bell tower there is a male figure holding a scroll, which is inscribed with the name of the man who sculpted much of the facade, Guidetto da Como, and the date, 1204.
The interior of the cathedral is best known for the Tempietto, the little temple, by MatteoCivitali, a local artist who made an interesting career shift in his mid-thirties when he gave up his job as a barber to become a sculptor. The Tempietto contains the VoltoSanto, Lucca's most prized relic.
The Volto Santo, or Holy Countenance, is a cedarwood crucifix,which is said to be a true effigy of Christ carved by Nicodemus. Legend has it that it arrived in Lucca of its own volition at the end of the 8th century, journeying by boat from the Holy Land. The Volto Santo became the symbol of the city, appearing on coins and official seals.
San Michele in Foro
The 11th century church of San Michele in Foro stands in the centre of the town on the site of the old Roman forum, hence its name. The facade, like that of the cathedral, is sumptuously decorated, but was the subject, particularly the top part, of a rather extensive and free restoration in the 19th century.
It is surmounted with an image of Saint Michael trampling a dragon underfoot and bearing a spear in one hand and an orb and cross in the other.
The virgin, the ‘salutis portus’, on the right hand side of the facade, was added by Lucca's barber turned sculptor, at the end of the 15th century after an especially bad bout of the plague.
SanFrediano
Dedicated to an Irish saint, Fredianus, who was also bishop of Lucca, the church dates back to the 6th century, but was completely rebuilt in the 12th. The relative plainness of facade is redeemed by a splendid 13th century mosaic depicting the Ascension of Christ as witnessed by his Apostles.
Many of the columns, which make up the interior of San Frediano were plundered from old Roman buildings. Their different sizes is cleverly corrected by the varying heights of the bases.
I would single out Matteo Civitale's delightful wooden sculpture of the Virgin, which graces the interior of the church, for special attention.
It is difficult to walk through the streets of Lucca for long before one sees some reference or other to the city's most famous son. There are bars, restaurants and hotels named after his many operas. I am referring, of course, to Giacomo Puccini, who was born in Lucca in 1858.
The second floor apartment where he was born, 9, Corte San Lorenzo, is now a museum and a hallowed place of pilgrimage for fans of the great operatic composer. Puccini came from a family of musicians and the apartment had been in their possession since the beginning of the 19th century.
It must be said that Puccini never lived in the place as an adult and never composed any of his operas there. That honour goes to a villa he owned at the nearby coastal resort of Torre del Lago, which is where he died in 1924. An annual summer festival, devoted to performances of his music, is held at the side of the lake.
Giacomo Puccini was not Lucca's only contribution to the world of classical music, the baroque composers, Luigi Boccherini and Francesco Geminiani, were both born here.
The city is rich in baroque palaces, many of which are still privately owned and out of bounds to the general public. An exception is the PalazzoPfanner, which throws open its doors (for a fee) from March to October.
The 11th century church of 
It is surmounted with an image of Saint Michael trampling a dragon underfoot and bearing a spear in one hand and an orb and cross in the other. 
