Lucca
Lucca is situated on the river Serchio in northern Tuscany in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is famous for it's intact Renaissance city walls even though now it has expanded beyond them.
Founded by the Etruscans it became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of it's historical centre preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum. Traces of the amphitheatre can still be seen in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro.
Lucca is the birthplace of composers Giacomo Puccini (La bohème and Madama Butterfly), Francesco Geminiani, Gioseffo Guami, Luigi Boccherini, and Alfredo Catalani. It hosts music festivals and outdoor concerts in the summer months.
Today Lucca (inside the walls) has designer shops, restaurants, and you can walk or cycle around the walls which were used for many years for racing cars. It has many medieval churches some as dating back as far as the 8th century
