Lucca Visit Card

National Museum of Palazzo Mansi

Il National Museum of Palazzo Mansi, It is a museum-residence, a unique example of the homes of the Lucca mercantile aristocracy and an important testimony to the textile art in Lucca.

On the ground floor, the rustic weaving laboratory Maria Niemack, exhibits looms and tools from the 19th and 20th centuries.

On the main floor are the state rooms, renovated by the Mansi family in the 17th century, which retain much of the original Baroque furnishings and a precious cycle of tapestries manufactured in Brussels.

On the second floor are the sections dedicated to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Finally, one wing of the Palace houses the Art Gallery with paintings from Italian and non-Italian schools from the 16th to the 18th century.

National Museum of Villa Guinigi

Il National Museum of Villa Guinigi It is set up in the Villa that was the home of Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca from 1400 to 1430, built in an elegant late Gothic style.

It can be considered the museum of the city and its territory and in the displays of the large rooms the history of the city is retraced.

It starts from the 8th century BC with the archaeological collection, then moves on to the collection of medieval painted crosses, to the rooms dedicated to the sculptures of Matteo Civitali, and arrives at the 18th century with works mainly of sacred subjects of one of the richest and most interesting collections of works of art produced for Lucca by artists from Lucca or foreigners working in the city for ecclesiastical and lay patrons.

Museum and archaeological complex of Lucca Cathedral

Il Museum and archaeological complex of the Cathedral It is made up of four independent spaces.

The Cathedral of San Martino, with its asymmetrical Romanesque façade, richly decorated with inlays, it has been the centre of Lucca's spirituality for centuries.

Inside it are kept, among the numerous works, the funeral monument of Ilaria del Carretto, a masterpiece by Jacopo della Quercia, and the Holy Face, the thousand-year-old crucifix
wooden structure around which centuries of faith, history and legend meet.

The bell tower of the Cathedral, the highest in the city, you can admire the panorama of the roofs, alleys and towers of Lucca.

Walking through the halls of the Cathedral Museum, among the precious jewels of the Treasury of the Holy Face, illuminated codices, ivory diptychs and leather caskets, without forgetting the refined ancient silks, paintings and sculptures, it is possible to discover the historical and artistic events that have characterised the Cathedral and its close relationship with the city.

Finally, the church of San Giovanni and Santa Reparata It houses the adjacent Baptistery and an underground archaeological area, where, by walking just a few meters, you can experience centuries of history, from the Roman era to the early medieval phase of Lucca's first cathedral.

Botanical Garden of Lucca

THEBotanical Garden of Lucca Founded in the 800th century for scientific purposes, it houses a historical, scientific, and architectural heritage, as well as living and museum collections of great interest and charm.

It is organized into areas that represent the most widespread natural environments of the Lucca plain, the wetlands of the lake, the mound with the species of the Apuan Alps and Monte Pisano.

Then there are the greenhouses for tropical and succulent plants, the Garden where local edible plants are reproduced, the Arboretum with the great patriarchs and the Bicchi herbarium, the heart of the museum section.

Since 2022, the Lucca Botanical Garden has been recognized as a Museum of Regional Importance.

Puccini Museum – Birthplace

Il PucciniMuseum Birthplace museum  It is located on the second floor of an ancient building in the heart of the city of Lucca, in the apartment where Giacomo Puccini was born. December 22, 1858.

The composer spent his childhood and early youth in this house and remained attached to it throughout his life, retaining ownership of it even though he had established his residence elsewhere.

The Museum, renovated in 2010, houses original furnishings and precious objects that belonged to the musician, including the Steinway & Sons piano on which he composed. Turandot, autograph scores of youthful compositions, many letters from and to Puccini, paintings, photographs, sketches, memorabilia and precious documents that document the composer's work and personal history.

Guinigi Tower

La Guinigi Tower It is part of an imposing building commissioned by the Guinigi family, rich and powerful merchants from Lucca in the 14th century.

Together with the Torre delle Ore, it is the only remaining testimony of the many towers that characterised the city skyline in the Middle Ages and in the 15th century.

The Guinigi Tower's unique feature is the hanging garden at the top, where holm oaks have grown in special flowerbeds for centuries, a symbol of powerful and enduring strength. Today, they are cared for by the staff of the Lucca Botanical Garden.

Basilica and Bell Tower Complex of San Frediano

La Basilica of San Frediano It is one of the oldest places of Catholic worship in Lucca.

The first basilica dates back to the 6th century, while the current one is a 13th-century reconstruction in Romanesque style, but maintaining the basilica plan, unique among the great churches of Lucca, as is the large mosaic decoration on the façade.

Over time, family chapels were added along the side aisles, housing precious works of art linked to the history of the Lucca noble aristocracy.

From this basilica, on the evening of September 13th, the Luminara, the procession for the Holy Cross, begins, in commemoration of the transport of the Holy Face from this church to the Cathedral of Lucca, following miraculous events.

Tower of the Hours

La Tower of the HoursAt 50 meters, it is the tallest in the city. Originally owned by the Quartigiani family, it was purchased in 1490 by the General Council of Lucca to mark the secular time of the people of Lucca.

Bells strike the hours and quarters of each hour, according to Roman custom, thanks to a precision Swiss-made mechanism made in 1754 and still in working order, located on the penultimate floor of the tower.

In the same year, an iron weather vane was installed on the top of the tower, bearing the motto Libertas, which was found on the flags of the Republic of Lucca.

Roman Domus of Lucca

During the renovation works in the basement of Palazzo Orsucci (16th century) in the centre of Lucca, the remains of the Roman House “House of the Boy on the Dolphin”.

An important archaeological testimony, of notable interest in completing the historical reconstruction of the city.

In a single room it is possible to discover the evolution of construction techniques over 2000 years.

The 92 finds from the Roman, Lombard, Medieval, and Renaissance periods discovered during the excavations are displayed in the places where they were discovered during the excavation work conducted in 2010.

Ancient Mint Museum of Lucca

Il Museum of the Ancient Mint Foundation of Lucca, in Casermetta San Donato on the Walls of Lucca, is the place dedicated to the discovery of one of the most prestigious historical, cultural and economic realities of the city.

The Mint of Lucca is the oldest in Europe and the longest-lived: it minted coins from the time of the Lombards until Charles Louis of Bourbon (from 650 to 1843).

The museum houses permanent exhibitions of coins, medals, and precision minting tools, allowing visitors to learn about the history of coinage from its origins to the present day.

Temporary exhibitions are also held throughout the year.

The Mint has resumed its activities and an active laboratory mints historical coins used in the city in the past and commemorative medals for various occasions.

Barsanti and Matteucci Internal Combustion Engine Museum

Il Museum of the Internal Combustion Engine Barsanti and Matteucci   retraces the life events, works and successes of the two inventors Eugenio Barsanti, a priest and physics teacher born in Pietrasanta, and Felice Matteucci, an engineer from Lucca.

The Museum has multimedia rooms set up on two floors.
The visit begins on the first floor where you can watch a video on the biography of the two scientists and the history of the invention and the experiments on which the invention was based and access documents and equipment for the first experiments.

On the ground floor, five models of the engines in motion are on display, along with two videos illustrating how the engines work and the Foundation's activities.