Lucca is dubbed "the city of a hundred churches" because there is a place of worship at every turn and is the only one of Tuscany’s original city-states to have retained its independence until the mid-nineteenth century.
An imposing ring of defensive walls circles the city and nowadays they make for interesting walks.
Lucca is sited in the center of Piana di Lucca, a breathtaking landscape carved by the river Serchio and dotted with medieval cities, not far from Versilia and the marble quarries of Carrara.
