During the Lombard reign (6th –8th century) Lucca was the capital of Tuscany or, more strictly speaking, the seat of its duke. The town’s golden era was from the 11th to the 14th century when it was an independent city-state, with an influential banking community and silk trade. Lucca lost its independence to Pisa at the beginning of the 14th century but soon after won it back, and for a while, under the dictator Castruccio Castracani, Lucca was close to conquering to the rest of Tuscany. However, this became impossible due to Castruccio’s untimely death from malaria.
Lucca remained independent, but relatively insignificant, whilst Florence went on to conquer the rest of Tuscany from the 14th to the 16th century. It was only when Napoleon came on the scene that the state of Lucca fell and was ruled by the Bourbons. Finally for a short time, just before the Italian unification of 1860, it was under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Lucca is still today, despite not being independent, a unique town quite distinct from the rest of Tuscany. Whereas all other Tuscans drive mopeds, the citizens of Lucca ride bikes. Whilst the rest of the region is politically left wing, Lucca is right wing.
Duomo di San Martino is a wonderful cathedral with an impressive facade, whose bas-relief dates back to different periods and artists: from the 5th century, to Nicola Pisano in the 13th century. In the cathedral you can see the famous Volto Santo, a figure of Christ in cedar wood, apparently carved by Nicodemus, an eyewitness to the crucifixion. The more scientific expert might claim that the figure is a 13th century copy of an 11th century copy of an original from the 8th century. Whatever the truth of the matter, legend has it that the sculpture came to Italy of its own accord and under its own steam on a boat from the Holy Land in 782, and when it landed on Italian soil, it continued alone, guided only by divine power, in an ox-cart to Lucca. The figure was of indescribable importance in the Middle Ages: the English King William Rufus swore allegiance by it (“per sanctum vultum de Lucca") and in France, the name of a saint came into being, Saint Vaudeluc, which was an alteration of the French name Saint Vault de Lucques. Other treasures in the cathedral include the tomb of Ilaria del Caretto by Jacopo della Quercia (1410). Illaria was the wife of Paolo Guinigi, one of Lucca’s most powerful men. There is also a ‘Presentation of the Virgin’ by Bronzino (1598), “The Last Supper " by Tintoretto and “Madonna with Saints " by Domenico Ghirlandaio, as well as a “Trinity" by Filippino Lippi.
Close to the cathedral is the Basilica di San Giovanni, which was Lucca’s former cathedral. It was restored in the 12th century and again in the 17th.
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In the town’s central square you can find San Michele in Foro, which as well as having probably Tuscany’s most impressive Roman facade, has the town’s highest bell tower. Inside there is a beautiful crucifix and a fine altarpiece by Filippino Lippi.
Slightly west of San Michele you find San Paolino, a gloomy Baroque church, whose only claim to fame is that it houses the bones of Lucca’s patron saint, and that it was one of the first churches where Puccini played as a organist.
Other interesting sights include the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, the majority of whose bricks were reused to build churches in the 12th century. There was once a Roman amphitheatre on this site, and the town square still retains the shape of the theatre. Some parts of the theatre’s walls are still detectable in the surrounding houses, particularly towards the north.
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