Manhattan Chowder, Back in the Big Apple

Italy Day Two

Our first sightseeing trip was into the town of Lucca which is the closest city to my father’s village. It boasts one of the only completely in tact fortified city walls left in Europe dating from the Renaissance period. The city itself however dates from long before that. The Romans set up an ancient city here and in fact some of the city still follows the old Roman plans. We had lunch in Piazza dell’Anfiteatro (Amphitheater Square) which was once the site of a Roman Amphitheater. We then toured a couple of Lucca’s more famous sites, the Church of San Michele and the Duomo of San Martino before having a gelato and a couple of macchiatos. This gave us just enough energy to climb to the top of Torre Guinigi, one of a few medieval towers left in the city. At one time Lucca’s skyline was dominated by such towers. Just as rich men of today buy fancy cars, rich men of medieval times and the Renaissance built towers to prove how important they were. Exactly what these towers were built to compensate for is left to speculation, but let’s just say some things never change. In any event, Guinigi was one such man and his tower, which has a rooftop garden of sorts where trees are planted, affords one a spectacular view of old Lucca with its surrounding walls.

Espeically for LSL who loves Lucca, below are pictures of Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, San Michele’s wedding cake facade and a view the Duomo of San Martino from atop Guinigi’s tower.

Labels: European Travel

posted by Michael @ 4:18 AM