In this corner of the city there are interesting monuments from different eras.
It happens often in a city like Lucca.

From the small belvedere you look out over the baroque garden of Palazzo Pfanner.

Descending the ramp of San Frediano you pass the Real Collegio, a prestigious building that was the monastery of the clergy of San Frediano, then a women's college, and today a venue for events and exhibitions.

Opposite, the powerful bell tower and apse of the church of San Freidano betray the irregular orientation of this church which, unlike the others, has a façade facing east.

Piazza San Frediano is dominated by the façade and 13th-century mosaic of the Basilica founded in the second half of the 6th century by Frediano, the Irish bishop saint.

Local tradition attributes to this Saint the miracle of the diversion of the Serchio River, whose floods threatened the city, as the 16th-century frescoes by Aspertini preserved inside tell us.

From here you cross Via Fillungo, the most famous and lively street in the city, whose route partly follows that of the Cardo Maximus of the Roman city and you quickly reach Piazza Anfiteatro, redesigned in the 19th century by the Lucca architect Lorenzo Nottolini on the remains of the Roman amphitheatre from the 2nd century AD. It is perhaps one of the most photographed squares in the world, certainly unique for its elliptical shape and the irregularity of its rooftop skyline.

A stroll as a Grand Duchess. An elegant tree-lined avenue leads to Piazza Napoleone, and then straight on to Piazza San Michele, the heart of the city.

On the Santa Maria bastion, the nineteenth-century Caffè delle Mura is A historic garrison of the "good" walk along the Walls. Built in the 19th century, the "public promenade" lined with plane trees began here, leading to the "carriage roundabout" of the San Paolino bastion. It is the first section of the Renaissance Walls redesigned as an urban park.

From the square you go down to the Napoleon Square. The Palace and the square itself are the result of the interventions undertaken in the early decades of the nineteenth century by the princess Elisa Baciocchi, sister of Napoleon, and the Grand Duchess Maria Luisa of Bourbon depicted in the monument by Lorenzo Bartolini located in the centre of the square.

Piazza San Michele, which occupies the original area of ​​the Roman Forum, is characterised by the mass of the church built at the beginning of the 13th century and dedicated to the warrior Archangel, whose statue dominates the cusp of the façade.

The perimeter of the square is made up of ancient stone and brick buildings among which, in the south-west corner, the Renaissance one stands out Praetorian Palace, seat of the ancient city magistrates, designed by the Lucca artist Matteo Civitali.

In front of the Church is Via di Poggio, from where you can reach the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini.

A journey back in time in a few hundred meters through the 19th-century Porta Elisa, the medieval Porta di San Gervasio e Protasio up to the entrance of Via Santa Croce, where one of the access gates to the Roman city opened.

Porta Elisa, opened by Napoleon's sister along the road from Florence, is the "nineteenth-century" access to Lucca.

Along this sort of historical "telescope," you'll encounter several particularly noteworthy buildings. Villa Bottini, built by the Buonvisi family in the second half of the 16th century and surrounded by an Italian garden with a nymphaeum, is a lovely garden where you can relax in the shade.

Via del Fosso, which takes its name from the “public conduit” built at the end of the fourteenth century along the medieval walls, is one of the most romantic and “picturesque” streets in the city.

And finally, the Church of Santa Maria “Forisportam”, rich in decorative elements from the classical age, lions, capitals, and other sculptures, reused on the façade and interior.

In the square still stands the column that marked the start and finish of the horse race, at the time of the Roman city.

If you're in the mood for discovery, enter the church of Santa Maria Bianca. In the left transept, you'll find a sundial marking the time along a line on the floor. In the atrium of the nearby cloister (now an elementary school) stands a monumental magnolia grandiflora.

Near the Renaissance walls, a precious corner of the city.
Descending from the San Colombano bastion, you can reach the cathedral and its treasures in a few minutes.

The Cathedral of San Martino, is the result of various renovations that have taken place over the centuries.

The distinctive asymmetrical portico and the richly decorated façade, adorned with sculpted figures in relief and inlaid with marble, were added in the 14th century. One could spend hours discerning among the figures a bestiary of domestic and wild animals, fish, birds, and plants of all kinds, interspersed with characters from biblical or ecclesiastical episodes.

Among them is Saint Martin, in the act that made him famous, giving half his cloak to a poor man. A little higher up is the portrait of the architect himself, Guidetto da Como, depicted in a corner, holding a scroll claiming authorship of the work. Inside the cathedral are two of the city's iconic works of art: the sarcophagus of Ilaria del Carretto, a Renaissance masterpiece by Jacopo della Quercia, celebrated by poets and writers, and the “Holy Face” a 10th-century wooden crucifix venerated in ancient times by pilgrims who travelled along the Via Francigena on their way to Rome.

On one side of the facade, the bell tower connects the atrium of the Cathedral to the thirteenth-century building that housed the Opera del Duomo.
From the top of the bell tower, you can enjoy a splendid view of the city and the hills to the south, Monte Pisano. On the south side of the church, the Lucca Cathedral Museum houses furnishings made since the early Middle Ages for the solemn liturgical functions of the Cathedral, including silk vestments and chasubles, embellished with embroidered floral and geometric motifs. A remarkable testament to the quality of Lucca's textile industry.

The splendid painting is preserved in a dedicated room treasure of the Holy FaceThe ornaments, still used today on May 3rd and September 14th to “dress” the venerated simulacrum, include the fourteenth-century frieze of the robe, the sumptuous crown in gold and precious stones and the mid-seventeenth-century collar with the imaginative jewel embellished with diamonds and enamels attributable to the French goldsmith Gilles Légaré who was active at the court of the Sun King.

On the north side of the Cathedral opens Piazza Antelminelli With the neoclassical fountain designed by Lorenzo Nottolini, the culmination of the monumental aqueduct from Monte Pisano, Palazzo and Giardino Bernardi, now Micheletti, built in the second half of the 16th century to a design by Ammannati. The square hosts one of Tuscany's largest antique markets every third Sunday of the month (and the preceding Saturday), where you can browse memorabilia and vintage items of all kinds.

Adjacent to the Palace is the Church of San Giovanni and Santa Reparata with the adjoining Baptistery, founded in the 4th century and the seat of a bishop until the 8th century. Archaeological excavations beneath the site have allowed the reconstruction of important events in the city's architectural history.