The Great Wall of Lucca: Riding the Ramparts

May 21, 2010 -- afternoon

If I were a Trojan Horse in Italy back in the day, I think I might have set my sights on Lucca.  This was my completely random thought as we walked from the train station along the path through open grassy fields towards the formidable red brick walls which completely encircle the town.  There was a distinct lack of “Welcome to Lucca” signage and no instructive arrows or information booths, so we simply followed the path to the obscure opening in the walls.

Less intrigued by the Regan-Reyna shenanigans,
but I did find this showdown to be a little funny...

The 40-foot walls date back to the 2^nd century AD, and were added to in the 16^th century to fortify them as defense walls against would-be invaders.  They were considered very advanced for their time. They line the entire 3-mile-ish town circumference, which in and of itself was not unusual.  But what made these particular walls unique was that there were two sets of them, built about 60 feet apart and connected across the top.  With intentionally open clearings surrounding the town, the lack of brush and tree cover was meant to foil an enemy’s prospective sneak attack plans: like a castle moat, but without the ditch, the water and the hungry crocodiles.  I’m no medieval military strategist but I found myself duly impressed… and more than a little bit intrigued by all of the Renaissance-era shenanigans. 

If you look closely, you can see Cade.  Hint:  look up!

In spite of the city’s conflicts with Pisa and Genoa, the walls were apparently never actually put to use in defending the city.  Perhaps this would have been a slight disappointment to the wall’s ancient architects who masterminded the defensive features. Or perhaps they would have felt victorious, crediting their clever design itself for warding off an attack.  Regardless, it proved to be a provident design as well, as centuries later the walls became unwitting dikes and saved the town from the Great Flood of 1812 when a nearby river flooded the valley. 
When other cities around Italy dismantled their walls to allow for sprawling urban expansion, Lucca’s were instead converted into a promenade and public park in the 19^th century and have functioned as a tree-lined strolling/jogging/cycling circuit ever since.  With benches.  :-)  Brilliant.

There are two tall towers that rise above the other buildings in the city.  One has a rooftop garden with trees growing on the top of it, and the other is a clock and bell tower.  We didn’t get to climb to the top of either one, since our time was limited and the kids were anxious to get to the promised bike-riding portion of our day, but the views must be amazing.  Apparently there were as many as 130 such towers in Lucca in its Middle Ages heyday.  They were a symbol of wealth and power, and also a good way to keep an eye on your neighbors to make sure no one was preparing to attack you.  Oh, interfactional Tuscan intrigue and rivalry.  Good times…

As we walked along the shopping street via Fillungo, and through the narrow side streets of Lucca, we stopped at a local bakery/grocery for some foccacia bread and cheese and ducked in and out of shops in search of a Lucca patch for Cade’s ever-growing collection.  We took in some sights on the way, including one of the city’s famous churches, the Duomo di San Martino.  Had we happened upon opera composer Giacomo Puccini’s birthplace-turned-museum, we might have stopped for a quick aria and tour in honor of Madame Butterfly and my opera-singer sister-in-law, Suzanne, but our map-less wanderings didn’t take us there.  


They did, however, lead us to the site of the old Roman amphitheater from the 2^nd century AD (Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC).  Over the centuries, the amphitheater presumably fell into ruin.  In the Middle Ages, houses were built on top of the remaining foundation of the massive amphitheater, thereby preserving its elliptical shape.  Now, shops, boutiques and cafes occupy the lower levels of the buildings in the oval plaza, creating a vibrant social center known as Piazza dell’Anfiteatro that is often used for city events and festivals.  We sat on a bench and enjoyed our now-daily dose of gelato and took in the relaxed scene. 

We found the bike shop, I exchanged my California driver’s license and a reasonable number of Euros for bicycles in all of our respective sizes, and we joined the ranks of “leisure cyclers” pedaling around the perimeter of the walled city.  We quickly learned that the bells on our handlebars were not just for fun, and were not for alerting walkers to step out of our way, since the ring-rings were seemingly ignored by people in our path.  So we all adapted to the apparently accepted local practice of using the bells to warn pedestrians ahead to stay on course and not make any sudden movements as we steered around them.  
I had read that a couple of fatalities had occurred from kids accidentally falling over the 40-foot drop-off on the side (yikes!), so I had given my girls strict instructions about staying in the middle of the wide path, well clear of the inner wall’s exposed edge.  It turned out that Cade was the one I needed to worry about.  On our second time around the loop (mile 5 or so), he rang his bell and speedily swerved right to avoid a wide group of walkers.  His bike tires slipped on some gravel, and he skidded on his side to within a few feet of the drop.  Sigh.  Despite some bruises and minor scrapes and cuts, he lived to tell the tale.  His jeans?  Not so much. 

The seat actually rotates
under the cleaning arm when the
toilet is flushed!

It was still a glorious outing – although in spite of our (very!) best efforts, we failed to find a patch for Cade’s collection in Lucca.  This was made all the more disappointing by the fact that we had seen a Lucca patch in Pisa by the Leaning Tower earlier in the day, and Cade had opted to wait so he could get it in the city of its namesake.  Dash it all.  I told him that in a week with two Thursdays (it's an Italian expression...) when I make a quilt with all of his patches on the squares, I’ll leave a blank one for Lucca and we'll pick up the hunt again someday.  (Anyone headed to Pisa?)
  
It was evening when we jumped on a train (with self-cleaning toilet seats) and headed back to Florence for our last nostalgic moonlit walk back to our apartment.  The kids were tired, but happy with the day's adventurous outings to Pisa and Lucca.  I was tired too.  But once the kids were tucked into their beds in the basement bedrooms, I got to work preparing for our next day's departure to the Italian coast.