Orientation

Your first step is to put down this book. But wait! Finish reading this section before you toss us to the wayside. Lucca is not a place for checklist tourism. Whether you are here for an afternoon or a week, the best thing to do is to get lost. Put a map in your pocket in case of an emergency, resist the temptation to follow the stops of the carefully signposted Tourist Route, and have at it. In any event, sooner or later you’ll always hit the city wall, but you’ll probably find that despite hidden piazze and winding alleys, these medieval streets are so distinctive that you’ll know your way around in a day.

When you do look at a map, you’ll see a big square-shaped area inside the ellipse of Lucca’s walls. This square marks the original Roman city boundaries, and the streets within it form a surprisingly reliable grid. If they suddenly begin to spiral in on themselves, you’re probably nearing the Piazza Anfiteatro in the north. Coming from the station you will most likely enter from the south, passing Lucca’s Duomo. A little west from there is Piazza Napoleone, the heart of community life. The other major gateway to the town is Piazzale Verdi—if you’re here, it means you’re in the westernmost point of the city. Via Fillungo, lined with posh shops and department stores, runs roughly north to south until it starts veering east in that wacky Anfiteatro zone. East of the canal on Via del Fosso you’ll find the city’s “new” section, a 16th-century extension. The walls, of course, are all around you.