Lucca Pictures

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Part of the massive and still entirely intact Lucca town wall, Tuscany.

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Lucca's over-the-top Renaissance walls and interesting little town are just 17km [10miles] from its historical enemy, tourist-clogged Pisa, yet gets barely a whiff of alien intruders. The town was most powerful from the 11thC to the 14thC due to the rich local agriculture and the silk trade, till it was captured by Pisans.
These days Lucca - birthplace of Puccini - is comfortably affluent and still specialises in silk.

Some of the town's main sights are: the stupendously complex and artistic facade of the church of San Michele in Foro; the interiors of various churches but especially the Duomo; the odd circle of ancient apartments of Piazza Anfiteatro; the 44m [130ft] high 15thC tower of Guinigi with a holm oak growing off its roof; and, of course the magnificent town wall that makes an excellent shaded, circular promenade. But there's plenty more...