"Why you come to Lucca?"

The waiter at dinner last night exclaimed, "Lucca, why you come to Lucca?"  He was happy when I said, "To have dinner with you."  He then proceeded to give me a kiss - on each cheek.  It seems that the people in Lucca don't understand what a treasure their town is. Here are a few of the reasons to visit Lucca.

Walking the walls - Lucca has not been involved in a war since 1430, so it's walls and buildings are perfectly preserved. The wall is 2 1/2 miles long and it seems that it is everyone's backyard.  People are always walking, biking, picnicking or just sitting on the wall.  We joined in and and walked like locals.

Some modern art on the wall.

These cardboard ostriches were tucked into one of the tunnels under the wall.

Female angel.

One of the entrances to Lucca.  The wall extends on both sides of the city gates. Some only allow pedestrians.

There is a maze of tunnels under the wall.

Good Food - finally some food to write home about.

Excellent music - every night there is a Puccini concert at San Giovanni Church.  I went to two concerts, Taylor went to three.

Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca.

There is a concert every single night of the year at the Church of San Giovanni.  Each concert featured 2 singers and a pianist.  Different music each night.

Churches - There are many churches in Lucca - all of them filled with the most amazing frescoes, paintings, sculpture, and architecture.  We visited many but not all of them.

Here is an example of some remodeling in a church.  A new chapel is being installed over an existing arch. This is the Church of Santa Cecilia.

Like most of the churches in Lucca, Santa Cecilia has beautiful frescoes.

This Madonna and child are so sweet.

San Martino Cathedral is the main church of the Republic of Lucca.

Church of San Frediano.  Hardly anyone visits this lovely church.  I was actually in it alone for quite a long period of time.

The altar is very simple, but the chapels on both sides of the church were quite fancy.  I love this simplicity.

 

I hate when tourists take photos of paintings, but here I am. I did it.  I love this painting and I justified my behavior as being acceptable because I was the only one in the church.

Friends - While there are many aspects of Lucca which are charming and alluring, one of the things I really enjoy is being here with friends.  After the frenetic pace in Rome, learning to relax in Lucca with friends has been lovely.

Our first night's dinner in Lucca with John, Bruce, Margit, Taylor and Jamar (the photographer).

Relaxing at the Pfanner Palace and Garden. We spent most of our time in the gardens just like this.