Lucca
We spent all three nights of our mini-holiday in Lucca. We had been before but it's always a pleasure to get reacquantied with this beautiful walled city.
The afternoon of our arrival we just had time to climb the medieval Guinigi tower. Towers were all the rage in medieval Tuscany - not only they were a status-symbol for wealthy families but also essential to survive internal wars!
This tower certainly stands out as holm oaks grow at the top!
I think it was my 3rd time (if not 4th) but... well I do like panoramic views.
From there you can see Piazza del Mercato with its unusual elliptical shape, inherited from the Roman amphiteatre it was built around.
As bobalone pointed out, Lucca is especially delightful at night time when it's rather magical, thanks to the fact that there are even fewer people around (and it was very quiet during the day - hardly any tourists at all, being January) and that the city within the wall hasn't realy altered much at all over the last few centuries.
We went for quite a long walk on the walls one night and spotted only 4 or 5 people.
The afternoon of our arrival we just had time to climb the medieval Guinigi tower. Towers were all the rage in medieval Tuscany - not only they were a status-symbol for wealthy families but also essential to survive internal wars!
This tower certainly stands out as holm oaks grow at the top!
I think it was my 3rd time (if not 4th) but... well I do like panoramic views.
From there you can see Piazza del Mercato with its unusual elliptical shape, inherited from the Roman amphiteatre it was built around.
As bobalone pointed out, Lucca is especially delightful at night time when it's rather magical, thanks to the fact that there are even fewer people around (and it was very quiet during the day - hardly any tourists at all, being January) and that the city within the wall hasn't realy altered much at all over the last few centuries.
We went for quite a long walk on the walls one night and spotted only 4 or 5 people.