Aqueduct Park
In 1822, at the request of the Duchess of Lucca Maria Luisa di Borbone, the royal architect Lorenzo Nottolini designed an aqueduct to bring “clear and pure” water to the city from the mountain a few kilometers south of the city itself, Monte Pisano, which separates the plain of Lucca from that of Pisa.
A brilliant feat of engineering, but also a true neoclassical work of art. Today, it is no longer used to bring water to the city, but is simply a beautiful monument that testifies to the strong connection between history, art, tradition, and nature.
Besides being a special place for those who love being outdoors and picnicking on the grass, it is also a crossing point for one of the trekking most interesting in Tuscany (the Street of the Aqueducts from Lucca to Pisa).
The trail is easy for everyone and can be explored on foot or by bicycle. There are plenty of stops along the way to relax and admire the surrounding natural beauty, with its rich and lush vegetation.
Just outside the Walls In the city's San Concordio in Contrada neighborhood, the route runs parallel to the aqueduct itself, which, with its 460 brick arches, reaches a small neoclassical temple for collecting spring water in the Guamo area after about 3 km. Water, channeled from the springs, once reached the city via two separate conduits: one for drinking water and the other to feed the monumental fountains.
At Guamo, the arches end, but the aqueduct continues along an underground path, recognizable by the wells clearly visible in the ground. This pristine place is called “To the golden words”, because the local farmers had mistaken the brass letters placed on a commemorative monument of the nineteenth-century aqueduct for gold.
The unique feature that makes this area so magical and evocative is the beautiful greenery that surrounds it: in this stretch, an uncovered artificial canal descends from the mountains in sinuous bends, while charming little bridges cross it, surrounded by meadows and woods.