Lucca’s perfectly preserved sixteenth-century historical walls protect a small city with an immense cultural heritage. It’s not just art and history, because this city in northern Tuscany has become synonymous with important international events, such as Lucca Comics&Games and Lucca Summer Festival. Here’s what to see on a one-day tour of Lucca.
Tour of Lucca: what to see in one day
From a provincial town, Lucca has become a world-renowned cultural city, hosting events that draw international artists and audiences. True, Lucca comes alive in particular during certain times of the year, such as summer. However, the historical and artistic attractions, primarily from the Middle Ages and Tuscan Gothic, ensure that tourists never lack anything throughout the year. Here is a tour of Lucca and what to see in one day.
Tour of Lucca: The Torture Museum
So let’s start with the Middle Ages and immerse ourselves in the grim atmosphere of the “dark period.” We begin our Lucca tour at the Torture Museum, located at Via Fillungo 209. The Palazzo Guinigi Magrini houses the museum. A stunning guillotine greets you at the entrance, instantly revealing what lies within. A gloomy atmosphere envelopes you as soon as you enter. A well-calibrated play of light with the dark will give you a bit of a shiver.
In the stone halls of the palace, you can admire all the most popular torture devices used in the Middle Ages and during the Inquisition. The collection includes original pieces along with reconstructions. Despite being a historical fake, the room featuring the Iron Maiden is particularly striking. The Iron Maiden is an iron sarcophagus that bears a vaguely feminine human shape. Metal spikes line the inside, impaling the flesh without harming the internal organs, resulting in a slow and agonizing death. The most disturbing torture device is located in the basement. It is the stretching rack, which is a board equipped with a final rack. This example is Italian and dates back to 1550–1700. The torturer tied the victim to a rack, pulled their body until it dislocated their joints, protruded their spinal cord, and tore their muscles.
Palazzo Pfanner
Exiting the museum, we continue along Via Fillungo. About halfway through, you will encounter the famous Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. It is a delightful glimpse, a typically medieval square in style but Roman in layout. Indeed, its uniqueness stems from its construction on the remnants of the ancient Roman amphitheater from the 2nd century AD. But we continue our tour of Lucca to visit one of the many precious villas of the city. Palazzo Pfanner is located at Via degli Asili 33, just off the walls.
The Pfanner family owns the villa but is open for visits to its splendid interiors and Italian garden. Built in the full Baroque of the seventeenth century, access to the residence is via the scenic and imposing staircase, with vaults richly adorned by vivid eighteenth-century paintings. This leads to the central salon, which is a marvelous example of “quadraturismo,” a pictorial current of Lucca. Indeed, the salon displays perspective frescoes that amplify its spaces. The interior presents the permanent exhibition of medical-surgical instruments and ancient medical texts belonging to Pietro Pfanner (1864–1935), a surgeon, philanthropist, and mayor of Lucca.
The garden of Palazzo Pfanner
The lush garden hosts boxwood and laurel hedges, yews, magnolias, peonies, hydrangeas, ancient camellia plants, begonias, roses, and geraniums. The octagonal marble fountain features eighteenth-century statues that depict the divinities of the Greek Olympus. Besides the beauty of its colors, the garden is famous because it was the site of the historic Pfanner Brewery, active from the second half of the nineteenth century until 1929.
It’s effortless to transport your thoughts back to that era. Thus, you can imagine the elegant people of Lucca and noble guests sipping a mug of beer under the pergola, among peacocks, flowers, and laurel hedges. What remains of the brewery are the ice houses, the masonry tanks, and the ancient workshops. Besides being a splendid setting for cultural events and garden concerts, Palazzo Pfanner includes a series of suites where you can stay for a romantic getaway.
The towers of Lucca
We resume our tour of Lucca with the Torre delle Ore, located between Via Fillungo and Via Arancio. Thanks to its 165 feet, it was the tallest of the 130 towers present in the city. Built in the thirteenth century, the Torre delle Ore features a white clock visible from all over the historic center. The internal wooden staircase of 207 steps leads to the top. You can book the visit on the municipality of Lucca’s website. A legend says that the tower was the backdrop in which the story of Lucida Mansi occurred.
This woman sold her soul to the devil to remain beautiful and young. However, after 30 years, the devil would return to claim the payment of the debt. On the night of August 14, 1623, at the end of the thirty years negotiated, Lucida Mansi climbed the Tower in a desperate attempt to halt the bell’s tolling and, consequently, the hour of her death. However, the woman did not manage to reach the bell, which at midnight rang. So the Devil took her soul.
Torre Guinigi
The Torre Guinigi, the symbol of Lucca, is even more unique and scenic. Located at Via Sant’Andrea 45, Torre Guinigi is famous because at its summit there is a charming grove of holm oaks. The Guinigi lords wanted to embellish their austere residence with this scenographic tower, which dates back to the beginning of the fourteenth century. The tower symbolizes the rebirth of Lucca thanks to their lordship.
An internal staircase of 230 steps, totaling 25 flights, leads to its nearly 150 feet height. Along the way, you can admire numerous paintings with scenes of medieval life. From the top, a wonderful panorama opens up over the entire historic center and beyond, up to the Apuan Alps, the Apennines, and Monte Pisano.
The Botanical Garden
Among the streets of the historic center, you will encounter trattorias that offer local dishes such as spelt soup, tordelli (ravioli with ragù), and garmugia, a vegetable soup with beef mince and bacon. Following the maze of alleys, our tour of Lucca now heads south until reaching the walls, where the Botanical Garden awaits us. It is an ancient scientific institution, founded in 1820 by Maria Luisa of Bourbon, Infanta of Spain, and Duchess of Lucca. It is located at Via del Giardino Botanico. In just two hectares, it houses hundreds of plant species. The botanical garden still retains its original layout today.
Beyond its monumental gate, we find the hill with the characteristic plants of the Mediterranean flora, the arboretum, and the green houses. The rooms housing the herbariums and the pond are also included. One of the symbols of the Botanical Garden is the beautiful cedar of Lebanon. In 1822, the botanical garden in Pisa provided the seed for its planting. Today it measures 20 feet in circumference, 73 feet in height, and has a wide and conspicuous canopy. Inside, two multisensory paths bring the visitor closer to the vast plant heritage through touch, taste, smell, and hearing.
The legend of the Botanical Garden
Popular belief links the Botanical Garden to a 17th-century legend. The legend again stars the beautiful noblewoman Lucida Mansi. A lover of excesses but worried by aging, the woman made a deal with the Devil, who appeared to her in the guise of a beautiful young man. The boy offered her another thirty years of youth and beauty in exchange for her soul.
The woman acquiesced and spent the following three decades in excess and dissolution. But one day, the devil returned to collect his credit. He loaded the woman onto a fiery chariot and dragged her to the pond of the Botanical Garden. Both are believed to have drowned there. According to the legend, during full moon nights, it is still possible to see Lucida Mansi’s face reflected in the water.
After visiting Lucca in one day, dedicate the next day of your stay to a tour of attractions in Garfagnana.
Alternatively, with this travel guide, you can find other attractions to see in the historic center of the city.
Instead, this travel guide will provide you with tips for finding restaurants in Lucca.
Lucca map
Tour of Lucca Gallery
Video lucca
Lucca weather
Meteo Lucca
Lucca Tourist Information Offices
The tourist information offices in Lucca can be found:
- IAT Lucca, Porta San Donato Vecchia-Piazzale Verdi. The office is open from April 1st to October 31st from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and from November 1st to March 31st from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Families can use the Baby Corner at the office to breastfeed and change diapers. Call (+39) 0583 583150 or email turismolucca@luccaplus.it.
- InfoPoint Walls in Lucca Castello di Porta San Donato. The office is open from November 5th to March 20th, Tuesday through Friday, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, the office is open from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. From March 21st to November 4th, open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone: (+39) 0583 442213; email: info@turismo.lucca.it.
- Checkpoint, City of Lucca, at Palatucci Parking, Viale Carlo del Prete. From April 1st to October 31st, the office is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Phone: 0583 583150; 0583 582389; email: checkpointbus@luccaplus.it
