Who has parked their bike in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro?
The tourist imaginary of Italian cities is so powerful that many 'demand' to visit them on a certain means of locomotion in order to return home with their duty fulfilled. If in Venice it's gondolas or in Rome scooters , in Lucca it is the bicycles that take on a fundamental role. The small Giro through its old town does not have and will not have the luxurious aftertaste left by the songs of the gondoliers or the adrenaline rush of dodging monuments and cars in the chaotic streets of the Eternal City , but he has the joy that comes from joining the metal bells , to the makeup-free routine of this walled city where there is no alternative: by bike or on foot.
And local businesses are aware of this, although without abusing it. they know that Lucca It is the great unknown of the Tuscan circus, which is not an obligatory stop for Japanese buses. For this reason, rather than succumbing to the temptation of making money at the expense of innocent tourists, they invite them to join the bikers dance with the city for a modest price. For a fork that moves below 5 euros per hour the excuses run out, one is rented bike with lock and you really live this small city. It is so, life in Lucca it is different at more than 15 kilometers per hour.
Once controlled the height from the saddle and getting the hang of the horn/bell, the ride begins. It is not advisable to take it as a sprint of Cipollini (mythical sprinter originally from this city), but fast enough not to hinder traffic and enter its alleys as if it were a beautiful and somewhat dangerous labyrinth. Lucca it is divided into two parts. First comes the one that doesn't interest us, the industry , that of services, that which expands outside the walls where cars and asphalt dictate their rules. Another thing is the second: the center , the one protected by the wide walls that, in a certain way, do not allow progress to enter in its most voracious and hungry form. Or at least slow down its effects. With the fingers of the hand the streets enabled for the transit of cars are counted, so here the king is the one who rides 'the donkey'.
Crossroads on wheels in Via Roma
The walk could be taken as a time trial , as a stage of resistance, but the exuberant beauties that the traveler encounters along the way stop this purpose. It is true that to Lucca it lacks the great iconic monument that places it in the 'maps-souvenirs' , but because the beauty here is more distributed by the regal palazzos, the cobblestones of the squares and the marble of the churches.
First pedal, to the heart of Lucca. Due to a kind of natural tendency, most cyclists take advantage of the fact that the old fortress opens on the Via Elise to access the center. A street that changes its name when it becomes a pedestrian street and is renamed Santa Croce and that is renamed at each pronounced intersection. Its most overwhelming point is when arriving at the church of San Michele in forum . The square that welcomes it opens suddenly, in any corner, to amaze with its elegant facade of romantic style Pisan in a pristine and marble white that conveys a bit of fragility, as if it were going to fall at any moment. It is a stop that is made with your mouth open and with your feet on the ground because the impression you have upon discovering its beauties is engraved with fire in every way.
Second pedal, towards the Duomo. Heading south (that is, down on the maps) you reach the Palazzo Ducale and the Piazza Napoleone , where the famous music festival of Lucca . If all the paraphernalia that accompanies it does not bother you, this space invites you to be surrounded since it is the administrative and historical center of the city. Without touching the brakes, he turns around Via del Duomo to lead to the homonym. After going around its circular fountain until dizzy, it's time to stop fooling around and stand in the shadow of the enormous bell tower. The face of the cathedral is very reminiscent of San Michele, only a tad simpler.
The Cathedral of San Martino, clearly Pisan Romanesque style
Third pedal, towards the surprises of the north. The urban planner who had to project the northernmost part of the old city had a concept of a city unorthodox much more anarchic. For this wonderful area the streets are more alleys and the corners more cornered. It's easy to get lost, but nothing happens, you can always look for the oaks that crown the Guinigui tower . Yes, you have read correctly. This old Renaissance tower has a garden that today provides shade for the foreigners who go up looking for the best views, many of them unaware that they are the protagonists of the city's most charismatic image. Great blame for the tortuous line drawn by its tracks lies with the uncomfortable presence of the Piazza Amphitheater , which is accessed through one of the four doors while the visitor imagines being a gladiator on wheels. There's nothing left of old colosseum of the Roman city, but the houses and restaurants built in it maintain the oval shape of its past. That is why the feeling of entering a bullring is preserved, with the consequent shot of adrenaline that comes with doing it by bicycle.
Fourth pedal, along the wall. Few defensive bastions invite as much to walk as that of Lucca . Seen from the outside, its walls still impose. The lawn that precedes it invites you to park your bicycle (putting the classic kickstand on it) and run like soul that carries the devil down the green moat yelling any kind of war slogan “Geronimo!!” . Once the most childish impulses have been satiated, it is time to look for a ramp to climb the battlements and walls where today there is a path of about 5 kilometers that goes around the historic center. It is time to enjoy the old town from a very different point of view, seeing the ass of the Duomo or the infinite towers challenging them from you to you with your eyes.
But the walls themselves are also an attraction, since they have numerous interior security passageways. In addition, at their vertices protrude defensive battlements star-shaped to better defend the city. In many of them it is worth stopping in order to better admire the pharaonic construction on which one stands. In the defense of a city taken harmlessly by the bikes . These have ceased to be just another vehicle to form part of the landscape of this peculiar city and, therefore, the best means of transport to get to know it.