Lucca—a window in time

We spent most of today in the beautiful medieval city of Lucca, a crown jewel in Tuscany. I had heard that some medieval buildings still existed here, but I did not realize that the entire medieval wall is still intact, nor that most of the buildings inside actually date from the 12th or 13th century. Much of today was given to visiting Lucca’s many churches. All of them can trace their origins to the sub-apostolic age. An oral tradition links the founding of the first church here with the Apostle Paul. Our guide gave us a detailed history of this city-state, describing its wars with nearby Pisa and Florence. I learned that Lucca was the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini. After becoming a successful composer in nearby Milan, he made his home just outside of Lucca. For lunch we had a delicious pizza. The restaurant is is a large oval piazza that stands on the footprint of the old Roman amphitheater. Each street has its own kind of charm. This is a place where I would like to spend some more time.Read more