We arrived at the camp grounds “IL Serchio”, in Lucca at noon to find the office closed to 2:30pm for ‘quite time’. While waiting in the car park another Australian couple from Melbourne arrived so we passed the time sharing travelling adventures. We had decided to spend three nights here so we could have a rest and catch up with personal and business affairs.
In the late afternoon we walked into Lucca along the river paths and levee banks.
Along the river we followed a couple traveling with there donkey for a while then up over the levy bank and down into a large traveling amusement park where families were enjoying the rides and side alley stalls.
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| Lucca City Walls |
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| Lucca City Walls |
As we approached Lucca we were immediately impressed by the fortifications and the extent of the ramparts and walls. we found a tunnel entrance through the fortifications and up onto the perimeter wall. This is a wall big enough for a roadway!!
We walked along part of the city wall which enclose Lucca’s historic centre and explored some of the best preserved ramparts in Italy.
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| Lucca Italy |
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| Lucca Entrance Gate |
In the 1800’s, the top of the thick wall was planted with trees and grass turning it into a park and a pleasant place to walk or ride a bike. There are more than four kilometres of walls with six gates and eleven bastions
We spent our first night entertaining in our our guests Pam and Ray in the Hymermobile, As they have travelled Europe in past years they provided some great advice on where to go and had many favourite places to share with us.
The next day we spent a leisurely afternoon meandering along the narrow streets of Lucca. Found the local markets and purchased a large led ceiling light which would be a good source of light for the motor home when free camping without electricity.
We climbed the 230 stairs of the ‘Torre Guinigi (tower) which was constructed in the 15th century.Towers like this one were built to watch over estate homes and insure they would not be attacked by other locals in town or outsiders. The green top is a trend from the era where they grew trees and some shrubs for shade and to relax on the roof.
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| Torre Guinigi (tower) Lucca Italy |
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| Lucca’s cathedral |
One of the cathedrals we visited was the Lucca’s cathedral, dedicated to San Martino or Saint Martin, which sits on Piazza San Martino surrounded by impressive medieval buildings. Originally build in the 12th to 13th centuries, it’s Romanesque in style and has an intricately decorated marble facade. Next to the cathedral is its tall 13th century bell tower and Casa dell’Opera del Duomo, a typical medieval house of Lucca. The interior is Gothic and houses good artworks.
Late afternoon, weary from our touring the town we stopped and enjoyed a cappuccino and Steven tasted another flavour of Galatea and then set off for the walk back to our camp grounds.
This motorhome park has a great pool so we decided to spend our third day relaxing by the pool reading. A quick dip in the pool was all that was needed to be refreshed as the water proved quite cool.
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| A day off Lucca Italy (holiday from the holiday!!!) |
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