Lucca, elegance and charm in a medieval settingProbably best known for its incredible and lovely oval town square, Lucca has made it to the top of must see lists for Tuscany many times over.
MAP OF OUR VILLAS - LUCCA AREA 
Piazza Anfiteartro, which takes on the shape of the antique roman amphitheater which it is built on is truly unique. In the medieval times, the square or piazza took the shape it has now as homes were built on the out edges of the walls of the theater and small gardens filled the square center until the mid 1800's when it began to take the form we see today. You can now visit there are enjoy a morning cappuccino or the town market on Saturday.
Lucca, located in north western Tuscany is probably second best known for being a walled in city. The walls were built starting in 1544 to 1645 to protect themselves from their arch enemy Florence or then better known as Firenze. Comprised of small red bricks which were made specifically for creating this defense measure which surprisingly enough never had to serve its purpose -- and even if it did just the immensity of the wall would have been a substantial deterrent. The wall is now used a park area for the town of Lucca and makes a great place to jog, bike or simply stroll while eating ice cream.
Lucca may have erected this wall to keep it free, but it changed hands constantly from one warring fraction to another however in most cases Lucca escaped serious physical damage as it managed to barter its way out of harms reach. Though perhaps the revolt of the straccionidiscolato is an interesting note. If a citizen, either through wealth or merit, obtained excessive favour among the people, twenty-five signatures were sufficient to banish him. This was an internal check system in order to stop one person from becoming so powerful that the fate of the town weighed upon his greed.
If you want to read some more about Lucca, and some fresh insights click here to read a short and amusing article written by Karen Klades with lots of extra tidbits of information: Click here for extra Lucca Info. Lucca is very walk-able and every time you turn a corner you bump into another fascinating aspect of the city, for example the roman aqueducts found on Via Fosso (which literally means ditch road). Its easy to imagine the ancient city life that would have revolved around the fresh water that this fosso would have brought to those with out running water.
Another great thing about a place like Lucca, is though it is quickly becoming a tourist must see, the Italians have take a rather hands off attitude, and many of the restaurants and shops you find will be catering to the local crowd and their likes. So if you are looking to eat like a Tuscan and drink your coffee very hot and very fast, then you have settled into the right place.
Don't even try to get your car into the city center, there is lots of parking all around the city and it gives you the perfect opportunity to enjoy the city wall. Most people think that since the Italians can be so lax in many cases that they will try to park illegally, but keep in mind that big brother has hit Italy as well and there are local government cameras just waiting to take a picture of your tag and hey a little exercise its what you'll need to work off your next pasta meal in Italy.
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