The Via Francigena southern variant
Where the European highway meets the city, a crossroads of travellers and paths
Crossroads of paths, the city of the Holy Face has always been an essential stop for pilgrims and wayfarers who over the centuries have travelled the path of the Via FrancigenaFrom Versilia and the Apuan Alps, crossing the Freddana Valley, the ancient route approaches Lucca until it meets the Ponte San Pietro bridge on the Serchio River, from which you quickly reach the "city of a hundred churches", which is accessed through the ancient Porta San Donato.
The historic centre of Lucca, enclosed within its sixteenth-century walls, is a treasure chest; the precious Holy Face, a very ancient wooden crucifix, which tradition says was sculpted by Nicodemus based on the real face of Jesus.
The Francigena route continues eastward along the villages of the Lucca plain. The pleasant Southern Variant which winds along the more than 3 kilometers of imposing arches and fountains, along the arches of the monumental aqueduct designed in 1822, and which then branches off towards the reliefs of Monte Pisano.
STAGES
Camaiore > Lucca 24 km
Lucca > Altopascio 19 km
Southern Variant 30 km