Lucca, a charming city in Tuscany, is renowned for its well-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city center. The city exudes an old-world charm with its cobblestone streets, medieval buildings, and picturesque piazzas. Notably, Lucca is the birthplace of the famous composer Giacomo Puccini, and his legacy is celebrated throughout the city. The stunning Lucca Cathedral and the Guinigi Tower, with its unique rooftop garden, are must-see landmarks that offer a glimpse into the city’s rich past.
As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, Lucca is a city I have been to many time. My darling wife loved the shops and always came away with a stylish new Italian outfit or two. We would dine in the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, which was originally an amphitheatre, dating back to the 1st or 2nd century BC. This piazza was created in 1830 as a market place, and is now a place where many excellent restaurants can be found.
Lucca has many piazzas inside its walls filled with many visitors and locals throughout the year.
Lucca Comics & Gamers has been taking place in the city for many years, and is usually held during the last weekend of October. This event is considered one of the most important events dedicated to comics, cartoons, games, video games in all Europe.
The Lucca Summer Festival, takes place every year during June & July and welcomes some of the most popular and renowned international musicians, singers and bands.
The last visit to Lucca as a family was in 2019 to attend the Lucca Summer Festival to see the British band, Take That. Sadly, this proved to be the last time Gio would visit Lucca. A few months later, while finishing our novel in France, she succumbed to a Pulmonary Embolism.
But because of our long association with Lucca, it holds a special place in my heart with many fond memories.
For this reason I am setting my next novel (and possibly others) in Lucca, something I believe Gio would be very happy with.
I am planning regular visits, if you see me wandering the streets with my notebook, stop me to say hello.
