Lucca | Sipping Espresso

You know when you visit a charming little restaurant or hotel and turn to your significant other on the way home and say, “what a wonderful place. I wish them all the success in the world – I’d love to come back soon and relive this experience all over again”? Or, have you ever been so impressed with someone personally that you truly want them to succeed at whatever it is they decide to do with their life?

Well, when we recently visited Le Violette in Lucca, Tuscany; I had the rare occasion to think both of those things. Le Violette is such an inviting place and its proprietor, Elizabeth is such a warm and genuine person that it is impossible not to fall in love with the entire experience.

Beth's guestbook is filled with messages from happy travelers — Beth’s guest book is filled with messages from happy travelers

Last year we reconnected with a high school friend, Elizabeth via Facebook. Of course, we knew her as Beth – but when you live in Italy for over a decade, your name becomes Elizabeth once again (the name Beth doesn’t really exist here). Last year, we stayed with her family in their amazing farm home in the Tuscan countryside (HERE and HERE). So, when she told us that she had recently just bought a Bed and Breakfast in Lucca, the car was packed faster than you can say, “Brunello di Montalcino“.

Typically Tuscany - Landscape — The hills behind Beth’s home

Lucca is one of those truly special Italian towns; the type of place you picture when you think of Italy. I recently wrote about our amazing trip to this city, HERE. If you read the post about the city then you will discover that the city is enclosed by medieval walls, still perfectly intact. It is immediately after you cross through the main city gate beneath these famous walls that you will discover Le Violette. The bed and breakfast is nestled on a perfectly cozy neighborhood street, in close proximity to the city walls and the main piazza. A short stroll from the B&B and you will find yourself at any of the cities main attractions. And if you’re in the mood for a late night snack, a great panini (sandwich) and pizza place is literally around the corner.

Walls of Lucca — The ancient walls completely enclose the city

Le Violette is very accommodating, offering many different options for lodging. For the single traveler, smaller rooms are available at a discounted price. Larger rooms are also available – we had more than enough space for all three of us. In fact, Beth…excuse me, Elizabeth had already set up an extra bed for Julia. Our room had large windows, which allowed a nice breeze and natural light to flow into the room. Some of the rooms offer fireplaces and other custom details. For the real road warriors, Beth makes her washer and dryer available – a real treat for people on the go.

Each morning, Beth sets out a wonderful breakfast for her guests. We would stock up on a variety of brioche, torte, fruit, fresh juice and more before setting out for the day. We tend to look for places that include breakfast in order to take one more step of planning out of the equation. We were thrilled that Beth would deliver cappuccini to her guests each morning. She even foamed some milk for our daughter, Julia so she wouldn’t miss out on the fun.

If you find your way to Italy, I would highly recommend Lucca. If you are able to stay overnight, you can do no better in terms of value, service and charm than Le Violette. Let Beth know that we sent you… I’d tell you that she would be extra nice if you deliver that message, but you’re always guaranteed to feel like family when Beth is your hostess (no matter how long you’ve known her). At least stop by for a nice cappuccino!

If you read the title of this post with your best impression of an Italian accent, then you probably nailed the pronunciation of one of our new favorite Italian towns. Lucca has been on our bucket list to visit for quite some time and now we can happily say we’ve been.

Torre Guinigi - Lucca — Another angle from Torre Guinigi

The city is renowned for many things, not the least of which is the giant annual gathering of comic book nerds and fantasy film geeks. Lucca plays host to Europe’s version of Comic-Con, the Fiera Internazionale del Fumetto (International Festival of Comics) or as it’s commonly referred – Lucca Comics and Games.

Some participants of Lucca Comics. Photo courtesy of Francesco Petrucci — Some participants of Lucca Comics and Games. Photo courtesy of Francesco Petrucci

For those of us that don’t have any desire to put on a Superman costume (yes, I’m just enough of a geek to know the term cosplay), there is more than enough to do in Lucca, which I will detail below. Thanks very much to some free press bestowed on me by Italia Living, I have recently picked up a few new readers (benvenuto a Sipping Espresso) and so I’m going to treat this post a little differently than in the past. As opposed to running through our little vacation part by part, instead I will opt to go a bit more “mainstream” and simply highlight the featured attractions of the city. Of course, I haven’t boiled it down to a “Top 10 Things To Do In Lucca” just yet. I like to hear myself talk far too much!

During Medieval and Roman times, it was quite common to fortify entire cities behind massive protective walls. Today, Lucca is a preeminent example of such fortification and one of the few cities left in Italy with her ancient walls fully intact. It is a wonderful experience to drive your car through the same gate that was quite possibly used by Julius Caesar himself. Of course, in this scenario, I’m simply the chauffeur and my own little Julia is the royalty riding in the back of the chariot. Even though I can’t positively date the existing walls as far back as Caesar, I can place him in Lucca for the well documented Lucca Conference, along with Pompey and Crassus in 56 BC. The origin of the city itself date back as far as 180 BC. Eventually Lucca rose in importance to the Roman empire and achieved immense wealth and status in the 11th century, thanks to the silk trade. The result of this wealth is evident today; the city is very well maintained. Nearly every street features an ancient church boasting a façade clad with expensive marble. Well designed piazzas are now the gathering places for tourists, street performers and restauranteurs. Streets lined with charming shops and wonderful cafes full of patrons keep the vibe of the city humming well into the night.

You can find many fine example of sculpture and statues along the top of the walls — You can find many fine examples of sculpture and statues along the top of the walls

The walls are wide enough for cars to pass along the top, but it is solely pedestrian

Churches of Lucca — One of the many churches that can be found on nearly every corner in the city

Our reason for being in Lucca was to visit our good friend, Beth (although here she goes by, Elizabeth which is better understood in Italian). We had an amazing time when we stayed at her home in Tuscany last year, which I wrote about HERE and HERE. She hosted us once again, but this time it was in the Bed & Breakfast she recently purchased, Le Violette. The place matches her personality perfectly; warm and inviting with an extra pinch of charm. I’ll write a full review of her B&B in an upcoming post. After we unloaded our bags in the room, Beth started our tour of the city beginning with the walls, which were widened centuries ago. In fact, not that long ago they used the walls for racing cars. Today, they are purely pedestrian.

Lucca Walls — View of the main bell tower of Lucca from on top of the walls

We hopped off the walls and strolled through the city, enjoying Lucca as only a pedestrian can.

Via del Fosso has a canal running through the center

Via Cenami is one of the main shopping streets

Julia takes a picture with me in Piazza San Francesco

The old market building where vendors would set up their stalls

Most Italian cities feature outdoor markets one-two times a week. We made our way to one of the fabulous Lucca mercato (market), which is held every Wednesday and Saturday.

We discovered that we accidentally strolled outside the walls by following the long line of vendors

Beautiful flowers are just one of the many things you could buy in the market

Lucca markets — I catch Jen for a photo in the market

Markets Italy Lucca — The markets can get crowded but they are a great place to pick up a picnic lunch

While in Lucca, you will want to position yourself in a vantage point that will command a view of the entire city, valley and mountains. You can choose to scale the Torre delle Ore (Clock Tower) or the Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower). We opted for the later, because it is the only tower in the city that has trees planted on top. But the ascent is not for the faint of heart; it’s a steep 230 steps until you get to the top. Compared to other similar towers, I found the €6 entry fee a bit steep, considering you don’t get anything other than the view (many similar sites also feature other historical items – this was purely just the tower). I quickly reversed my position on the fee when I actually took in the view. Breathtaking might be an appropriate word to describe the panorama.

Torre Guinigi steps — The final staircase ascending toward the top of the tower (shooting from below, looking up)

I lost my cool when I thought this was the top and I would have to view through a cage - when I cooled down, I realized there was a door and simply pushed on — I lost my cool when I thought this was the top and I would have to view the city through a cage. When I calmed down, I realized there was a door and simply pushed on

View of the city with the prominent Cattedrale di San Martino in view

Students in Lucca — I noticed a few groups of school children; Lucca is a popular destination for Italians

You will certainly want to pay a visit the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, a Roman amphitheater that has been reconstructed into a piazza compete with charming shops and cafes. We sat and enjoyed a few drinks while Julia enjoyed running around with Beth’s son, Indi.

Lucca Amphitheater — Panoramic of the Piazza inside the amphitheater

Outside the Lucca Amphitheater you can see the remains of the original Roman structure

Of course, no trip to Lucca would be complete without a visit to the Piazza San Michele and a tour through the Chiesa di San Michele in Foro.

Piazza San Michele — The piazza hosts some performers that loved playing American 90’s rock (primarily Nirvana)

I hope you enjoyed our tour through Lucca together and consider adding it as your next Italian destination. Below are a couple more pictures to temp you even further…