Pisa is one of Tuscany’s finest cities. The time spent on a stroll in Pisa will be well rewarded. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is absolutely one of the most well-known sights of Italy, not to mention the stunning Piazza dei Miracoli itself. In a word, Pisa is a great place to spend a few hours and perhaps snack on a local speciality or just relax and soak up the atmosphere of past eras, amid the key sights of this very special city. Pisa has so much to offer day visitors: old churches and palazzos, and the piazzas – spaces in which time seems to have come to a halt. Check out the many bridges of this city, spanning the river Arno. The city stands at the heart of Tuscany. In its sweetness, we might compare it to the invention of a medieval confectioner. For the historically- and artistically-minded, it is as though time had come to a standstill. Pisa is smaller than other tourist meccas such as Florence or Venice, but it is no less fascinating for that! You can visit Pisa quite happily in a day. Your city tour will remain indelibly impressed on your mind. However small and modest the place is, this little corner of Italy features no end of attractions. You will soon fall head over heels in love with the place. When you leave, your heart will remain here. A true jewel in Tuscany’s crown. The city’s most noted attraction is the Leaning Tower, which will be your first stop as soon as you reach Pisa.

The Torre di Pisa is one of the most frequently photographed sights of this part of the world. How could you visit Pisa for the day and not see the Leaning Tower? It leans (quite clearly) to one side, as the name suggests, and its history is well worth the telling. It took nearly 350 years to build it, and in all that time it never stood perfectly upright! It began leaning in the thirteenth century. The second floor was already up. The apparent reason is that the land is ‘soft’ here. The building work was interrupted twice, once for a century and then again at the end of the thirteenth century. The work stopped not because of this problem but − unexpectedly − because of war. The architect responsible for the original work is unknown, totally lost to posterity.

The city’s Baptistery is a major attraction. The Battistero di Pisa is just one of the many constructions in Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa’s renowned square, positioned slightly higher than the Leaning Tower itself. The Baptistery is one of Italy’s oldest structures.

Very high up on our list of sights to see in Pisa is the Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta). This splendid cathedral occupies the space between the Leaning Tower and the Baptistery. It ‘presides over’ Piazza dei Miracoli, so to speak. The Cathedral is indicated as the oldest of the monuments making up Pisa’s famed ‘squadra’ (or team of monuments, as it were). It symbolises the wealth of the former Maritime Republic of Pisa. During a period of mass bloodshed, but also of art and of complexity in the sphere of things spiritual, the Church served as a guide for Pisa’s citizenry, as an attraction then for the faithful, and today also for tourists. Both the church’s interior and its exterior are a delight for the eye: art, architecture and faith blend seamlessly, thanks to the skills of the masters who constructed and adorned this monument. Embodied are passion and a love of place, as reflected in the stunning mosaics and marvellously polychrome marble works adorning this building. Pisa’s cathedral, a masterpiece of the era of the Romanesque style, is in a class of its own. It was built to attest to the strength and determination of the people of Pisa as they struggled throughout the years of the city’s life as a maritime power. The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta should be viewed from all angles to appreciate its stunningly white, clean-line luminous overall look.

The monumental cemetery of Pisa may seem a rather odd tourist spot to recommend. However, it is most important for the citizenry. It is a remarkable place of worship and monument to the faith. A building in white marble, whose walls are solid and, in their own way, imposing. It will not only attract your attention, it may well disconcert you. The traces of many epochs have been left behind here, dating back even to Etruscan and Roman times, not to mention the Middle Ages. Peace reigns supreme here. An ‘artistic’ tranquillity…

The cathedral works museum also tells us much about Pisa’s history. This is one of the finest and most well maintained museums of the whole of Tuscany. Check out the amazing silverware items, sculptures, paintings and other artworks of all kinds.

Pisa is more than ‘just’ Piazza dei Miracoli and its monuments. Its charm is also to be found in the hidden details, in the hidden attractions that will suddenly seize your attention and imagination: in a word, your heart, mind and eyes – and Santa Maria della Spina is a case in point. This small Gothic church is discreetly sited on the banks of the Arno river flowing through Pisa. The church of Santa Maria della Spina goes back some 800 years. Eight centuries, and yet the church of Santa Maria della Spina is as sprightly as ever, and one of Tuscany’s most beautiful places of worship. A visit is mandatory!

Palazzo dei Cavalieri is one of the major attractions of Pisa. Built in the square now called Piazza dei Cavalieri, this palace stood at the heart of the political life of the city during the Middle Ages. The name comes from a knightly order, as the residence of the Cavalieri di Santo Stefano (the knights of St Stephen), an order founded in the mid sixteenth century by Cosimo I de Medici, Duke of Tuscany and Lord of Florence. The knights of St Stephen earned Pisa great prestige. What of Palazzo dei Cavalieri today? It hosts the University of Pisa, no less! The university was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte − who was greatly admired here as a thinker of the first order. A statue of the founder of the order of the Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, Cosimo I, stands before the building.

If you’re going to spend a whole day in Pisa, you will most likely pick up a souvenir at some stage! One of Pisa’s shopping streets that is most noted worldwide is called Borgo Stretto. The habitués of shopping tours in Italy are all fully aware of where Borgo Stretto is and what it has to offer, So, be sure to check out the sales outlets, haute couture boutiques and ateliers here. The atmosphere will stun you, and you will be equally amazed at what you’ll find even in Pisa’s other tiny, pleasingly arcaded Gothic alleyways and narrow streets, which will make your stroll through Pisa most satisfying. You will note just how architecturally accomplished the old palazzos here are – stunning examples of the architecture of the Middle Ages for which Pisa is so rightly famous around the world! Borgo Stretto leads you on to the sixteenth-century Piazza delle Vettovaglie (literally, the provisions or grocery square). The square is an enchanting place to go, as the market sets up to provide the best in coffee beans, Tuscan wines (with a taste that is strong or delicate, as the mood will dictate), fresh meat and fish. The fragrance of freshly baked bread spreads an air of domesticity over the urban landscape. Please also note the marked aromas of spices (a typical feature of the Maritime Republics from the time of their emergence as major sea powers). In the evening, Piazza delle Vettovaglie hosts the city’s dynamic nightlife.

You reach the city gates and, as you stand there, your heart misses a beat, and the thought lingers: how can I penetrate the heart of Lucca in just a few hours, less than one day? The car rental chauffeur-driven car rental solution will enable you to reach Lucca, city of a hundred churches, and calmly enjoy your visit – even for just a few hours.
What to see in Lucca in just a day? Seeing it all and seeing nothing. Maybe. Maybe we should stick to the main sights of Lucca: its beautiful architectural works and the surprising traces of a long history, to be found wherever you turn. The city of Lucca will enchant you. The time you dedicate to uncovering Lucca’s secrets will absorb you, as though this were a game, and an exciting one at that!
Maybe this why the place has captivated the visitors who flock here also for the Lucca Comics & Games trade fairs, when the city showcases items of interest to keen video gamers and avid readers of comics! What must you absolutely not miss out on when you come to Lucca?

Let’s get back to the basics, and the old city walls − an attraction that, more than many others, draws attention to itself imperiously. The city walls may well be the great favourite among tourists coming to Lucca, who greatly enjoy the views afforded over the city. In any case, visitors will be surprised and impressed at the views. The walls area also includes children’s playing areas, and spaces in which just to relax and take it easy, plus picnic areas. On each corner are small towers, ramparts and secret passageways that need to be actively sought out. The city’s botanic gardens with their lab, museum and library facilities (a major centrally located urban asset) are also worth a visit.

After the walls, forming a girdle around Lucca, we find the church of San Martino. In the lively city centre, we find the practically one hundred churches, all of which are stunning examples of any number of architectural styles. Indeed, one might say that these structures provide concrete expression to integration and multiculturalism as principles. The church of San Martino is a case in point. Located in the square of the same name, it serves also as the city’s cathedral. Lucca’s cathedral holds some of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance art ever. This church, the spiritual heart of the city, also hosts tombs by Jacopo della Quercia. The cathedral was built in the sixth century by San Frediano, then the bishop of Lucca. The church became a cathedral or “Duomo” during the early decades of the second millennium, thanks to the intervention of Anselmo da Baggio, more widely known as Alessandro II. Here, we also find the cathedral’s museum, Museo della Cattedrale (paintings, sculptures, prints, gems and much much more). The church of San Martino also hosts the sanctuary chapel, Cappella del Santuario. The cathedral’s famous facade drew its inspiration from the cathedral in Pisa. This church features polychrome marble work and coloured mosaics, conveying to all who enter, a marked sense of peace and intensity of the feelings of the faith. The structure of Pisa’s cathedral includes an imposing set of arches in stone, arcades, and a belfry that was never completed (you will note also the interesting contrast effect between the white of the walls and the unfaced brickwork). The cathedral also hosts the sanctuary of the Sacro Volto (Holy Visage). Another absolute ‘must’ for visitors.

Along with the church of San Martino, another ‘must’ on our Lucca tour is the basilica of San Michele in Foro. This church is unique, unlike any other here! Its arches, adornments and columns are extremely unusual. The frescoes and artworks representing wild animals confer upon this structure a decidedly unusual appearance. Luca della Robbia and Filippino Lippi enriched this church with their incredible works of art.

Piazza dell’Anfiteatro is one of Lucca’s most beautiful piazzas. It is elliptical in form, just like a Roman amphitheatre. However, the actual theatre and even its remains are largely absent. The palaces skirting the piazza adhere to the form, while their variety of heights and colour schemes make for an odd (but most attractive) harmony!
The amphitheatre’s presence is reflected in the curves of a number of streets in Lucca. Look carefully at the stone arches in the buildings leading up to piazza del Mercato. If you look carefully, you will see that they represent what’s left of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, once a ‘showbiz’ venue for the people here. Nowadays, we see buildings where, in ancient times, stood the amphitheatre’s orders of tiers and stone walls supporting imposing arches. The destruction of the barbaric invasions followed, and then came the houses and palazzos of the Middle Ages. Today the oval outline bears witness to the area’s former vocation.
This is a pleasant spot in which to pause for a while. Piazza dell’Anfiteatro hosts a number of open-air bars and eateries.

Yet another ‘must’ in Lucca is the famous Torre delle Ore, a former defensive work overlooking Lucca for more than seven hundred years. It is now a clock tower in the traditional sense. It is (and it has always been) very much a part of the life and rhythms of life of the people of Lucca.
The Torre delle Ore was built in 1300 as a lookout and means of defence. Over time its role has changed. It is now Lucca’s clock tower. From the top of the tower, one can see all the other towers of Lucca. The view also takes in the Basilica di San Frediano, Lucca’s marvellous cathedral, and the city’s other hundred churches.

Lucca is renowned for more than ‘just’ its walls and stunning architectural works. There are other attractions well worth checking out too. One of these we find to the south – the acquedotto dei Nottolini. This construction with its more than 400 arches covers a route of three kilometres. From the tempio della Cisterna (cistern temple) at the Parco Acquatico (water park) you can go the whole walk, to enjoy not only this imposing architectural work as such but also the surroundings.
The acquedotto dei Nottolini is more than ’just’ a marvellous architectural work, which anyone might well be interested in; like all the beautiful landmarks of Lucca, it is also quite unique and hence it truly deserves the attention of all visitors.

Dopo piazza dell’Anfiteatro, si trova un altro bellissimo spazio accoglie i turisti: è piazza Napoleone che ospita anche uno degli edifici storici più importanti di Lucca ovvero il Palazzo Ducale con la sua imponente facciata anteriore ricca di bellezze architettoniche senza tempo. Alberi frondosi, statue eleganti insieme ad altri edifici di rilievo storico incorniciano la piazza. Qui si trovano il teatro Giglio, la prefettura di Lucca ed il museo del Risorgimento.
Oltre al Museo del Risorgimento che racconta un pezzo di storia italiana, Lucca ospita anche la bellissima Villa Mansi che viene costruita nel 1700 per la famiglia Benedetti. Successivamente, a questa meraviglia dell’architettura viene annesso il giardino paesaggistico ed i suoi particolari arredi esterni, tra cui il portico ad arco e la scala ornata.

Lucca is known as the city of (more than) one hundred churches. The basilica of San Frediano attests to a sense of religion that was heartfelt, built upon solid foundations. Standing at the heart of Lucca, the basilica is a highly unusual structure. The exterior includes a beautiful mosaic. The belfry is marvellously adorned. With its unique detail work and colours, the mosaic representing the Assumption of Christ cannot fail to amaze visitors, given its refinement as a work. The beauties of the basilica of San Frediano are to be found both in the exterior and interior zones. Inside, the adornments are as refined as outside, as seen in the sculpture work within the basilica, symbolically attesting to Mankind’s commitment to God.

Over and above the Torre delle Ore, visitors to the old city centre can hardly fail to notice another extremely fine tower. While apparently set to one side and practically forgotten, it actually hosted the noble House of the Guinigis in two palazzos The Guinigis ruled over Lucca in the fifteenth century, during a period of prosperity and peace for the city.
The Guinigi tower and complex – fine structures from yesteryear – also host the national museum, Museo Nazionale. At a height of 50 metres, the Torre dei Guinigi affords a view of the city of unrivalled magnificence.