Italy > Cycling in Lucca

When we wake up, the nuns of the monastery are already busy. Their chanting echoes through the garden. In the room next to the reception, a simple breakfast buffet is ready. After eating, we ask if the gate can be opened again. We drive the car through the gate into the narrow street. Fortunately, the navigation knows its way through the maze of one-way streets in the old city. We have time and decide to take the normal road to Lucca, skipping the toll road. Around ten o’clock, we arrive in Lucca. We park the car inside the city walls in a parking lot. This lot is on the edge of the ZTL zone, the permit-holder zone. The city still seems quiet. Shops are just opening. We pass the San Michele church. The church is more impressive from the outside than inside. On Piazza Napoleone, large stands are set up. From the announcements, we understand that there are performances here all summer during the Lucca Summer Festival. Well-known artists such as Paolo Conte, Twenty One Pilots, John Legend, and Justin Bieber also perform. We climb the 233 steps of the Guinigi Tower. This tower was built around 1300 as a bell tower by wealthy families. From the top, we have a view over the historic center of Lucca. Square church towers rise above the houses everywhere.

Italy - View from the Guinigi Tower

On top of the Guinigi Tower stand four trees, providing lovely shade. Next to the Chiesa di Santa Maria Forisportam church, we order something to drink. It’s already warm. Extremely hot temperatures are predicted in Italy for this weekend. In cities, temperatures can reach forty degrees Celsius. It’s not that hot yet. The cathedral of Lucca was built in the eleventh century on the remains of an earlier church. Inside the cathedral are various artworks, including the Volto Santo, the Holy Face of Jesus, from the twelfth century, which is the most famous. The statue stands in a round chapel inside the cathedral. Every year on September 13, the statue is carried in a procession through Lucca. The façade of the cathedral and the bell tower are also impressive. On a statue above the entrance stands Martin of Tours (San Martino) on his horse, to whom the church is dedicated. At the city walls, we rent two bicycles. We ride on top of the four-meter-high city walls. Lucca is still the only Italian city where the walls are intact. In the seventeenth century, the city walls were built to defend against the Medici family who ruled Florence.

Italy - The center of Lucca and the city wall can be well visited by bicycle

From the four-kilometer-long path over the city walls, we see historic Lucca. After cycling around, we ride through the narrow streets from square to square. It’s not always clear whether we are allowed on one-way streets. The signs are only in Italian. We follow local custom, which basically means everyone cycles everywhere, even in pedestrian areas. The last square we visit is Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. This oval square once held a Roman amphitheater in the first and second centuries. Due to various wars, they decided to fortify it by bricking up the arches. Over time, the theater was completely built over with houses, until in the nineteenth century they decided to demolish houses and create a square following the outline of the old arena. Via the city walls, we cycle back to the rental place. We’ve worked up an appetite. At a terrace, we order a sandwich and something to drink. In the afternoon, we drive to Florence, a distance of eighty kilometers. We stay three nights in the historic center of the city. Parking here is difficult and especially expensive. We drive the car into a parking garage on the edge of the permit-holder zone.

Italy - The 91meterhigh dome of the cathedral

This garage has a maximum rate of fifteen euros per day. Other garages in the center charge three to five euros per hour with no limit. The downside of our garage is that we still have to walk half an hour to our accommodation. On the corner of the street where we are staying, we order a beer. It tastes wonderful in the shade. At the bed and breakfast, no one answers the doorbell. We call the phone number. Someone lets us in remotely. In the stairwell, it’s not exactly clear which door we need. We thought we understood the third floor. We are too far. Via an intercom, we get the correct directions. The room is fine, but we have to share the bathroom with other guests. We hadn’t paid much attention to that when booking. The location makes up for it. From our apartment, we are practically on Piazza della Signoria. We wander through the streets. Soon we are at the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral is the largest church in the world after St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s cathedrals. We look in amazement at the beauty of the cathedral’s exterior. Tomorrow we will see the church inside. In a side street, there is a nice terrace. The owner turns out to be from Kosovo. He is impressed that we have also been there. He immediately offers a small glass of limoncello. We end the day on the banks of the Arno. In the last rays of the sun, we admire the famous Ponte Vecchio.