Accommodations in Lucca

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LUCCA: CHARMING YET RESERVED
Situated on a fertile plain of the river Serchio near the Tyrrhenian Sea, Lucca is a city in Tuscany, and the capital of the province of Lucca, famed for its medieval wall because it is perhaps the largest Italian city with its medieval city wall still intact though the city has expanded past its original boundaries. Like so many of Tuscany’s cities, Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. Today, its palaces and churches draw tourists from across the world, who appreciate the city’s several excellent hotels.

Plundered by Odoacer, also known as Odovacar, the first barbarian King of Italy, Lucca was also an important city and fortress at the time of Narses, a Byzantine general active during the reigns of the emperors Maurice and Phocas in the late sixth and early seventh centuries who besieged it for three months in 553, and under the Lombards it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins.

Lucca gradually became prosperous through the silk trade that began in the 11th century, and its produce grew to rival the famed silks of Byzantium. During the 10th-11th centuries, Lucca was the capital of the feudal margravate (territory of a lord or military governor of a medieval German border province) of Tuscany, more or less independent but owing token allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.

After the death of Matilda of Tuscany, Lucca began to fashion itself as an independent republic, and remained so for 500 years, with many minor feudatories in the region between southern Liguria and northern Tuscany. Dante’s Divine Comedy includes many references to Lucca’s great feudal families, as Dante himself spent some of his exile in Lucca. In 1408, Lucca played host to the convocation intended to end the schism in the papacy.

Occupied by troops of Louis of Bavaria, Lucca was sold to Gherardino Spinola, and then seized by John, king of Bohemia. Pawned to the Rossi of Parma, they ceded the town to Martino della Scala of Verona, after which it was sold to the Florentines, surrendered to the Pisans, liberated by Emperor Charles IV and governed by his vicar, Lucca maintained its independence first as a democracy, and after 1628 as an oligarchy. After 1815 it became a Bourbon-Parma duchy, then part of Tuscany in 1847 and finally part of the Italian State.

The walls around the old town, once they lost their military importance, became a pedestrian promenade and were even used for a number of years in the 20th century for racing cars. The Academy of Sciences is the most famous of Lucca’s several academies and libraries. Then you have the Casa di Puccini, as well as several medieval churches with rich arcaded facades and campaniles.

Every year, Lucca hosts a Summer Festival, a major tourist attraction that draws artistes like Eric Clapton, Placebo, Massive Attack, Roger Waters, Tracy Chapman and Santana live at the Piazza Napoleone.

Lucca also boasts several excellent hotels, bed & breakfasts, and villas, as our list (www.yourwaytotuscany.com/Lucca.htm) will tell you. For all those planning a trip to Lucca, we have accommodation facilities to suit every budget.