Friday, July 9, 2010

Lucca Italy Torre Guinigi

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I recently revisited Lucca, Italy, with some friends. Lucca is a small city in which the old town still features the original wall circling and protecting the city. They have made the top of the wall into a lovely walking and bike path, lined with trees and often, breezes.

During lunch, I got to see my favorite fountain there, of which I made a painting in 2004.

This time around I got to take in the views from the Torre Guinigi, a tower with lovely trees on the top. It is an easy climb up the stairs to a shady loft overlooking the city. I hope you enjoy the views. At this writing, the tower is open from 9:30 am to 7:30 p.m., with the last entrance time just after 7 p.m. The price is 3,50 € per person, with reduced prices for kids, students, those with more than 65 years, and groups.

Lucca also sports a great concert series in the summer, with big names in a variety of music styles. Lucca, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany, makes a great day trip from either the Tuscan coast (think cruise line drop-off points) or Florence.





1 comment:

Laura Grimes said...

I was in Lucca 4 years ago. Such a lovely place. And such a location! Half an hour from Florence and half an hour from the beach. It struck me, walking on top of the wall, that if it were in the United States, it would be fenced all around the top so no one could fall off. I presume it is still unfenced, as it was when I was there. For the people of Lucca, it would be against the history of the wall to put up a fence. And the price is, every once in awhile, someone falls off to their death. While we were in Lucca, we heard that a four year old girl had fallen off and died.

Which way is better? The way of authenticity or the way of safety? Different cultures, different people, have different answers.