Lucca is famous for its perfectly preserved Renaissance city walls, a four-kilometre circuit of broad ramparts that completely encircle the historic centre. Built between the 16th and 17th centuries and never breached in war, they were later planted with trees and turned into a tree-lined promenade. Walking the walls gives a sweeping view over the rooftops and towers of a city that has welcomed Via Francigena pilgrims for more than a thousand years.
Highlights
- A complete four-kilometre ring of Renaissance ramparts never breached in war
- Tree-lined promenade of nearly 700 plane trees circling the city
- Legend of Lucida Mansi and the Devil's blazing carriage on the ramparts
- Sealed gates that held back the flooding Serchio in 1812
- Dusk circuit with rooftop views and the Apuan Alps on the horizon
At a glance
| Period | Renaissance ramparts (16th–17th century) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 13 — Tergnier to Laon |
Take care
- Path shared with fast-moving bikes — keep to one side
- Some inner bastion edges drop away unfenced; keep children close
History
Two earlier circuits, Roman and medieval, ringed Lucca before the Republic decreed new artillery walls, built between 1545 and about 1650 with eleven bastions and thousands of labourers. The guns were never fired at an enemy; the walls' one great service came in 1812, when the sealed gates held back the flooding River Serchio. After the duchy passed to Maria Luisa of Bourbon in 1815, her architect Lorenzo Nottolini reshaped the ramparts as a public walk, completed as a park later that century.
Myth & legend
Legend says the noblewoman Lucida Mansi bargained with the Devil for thirty more years of youth and beauty; when her time expired he carried her off in a blazing carriage that raced along these very ramparts. On moonlit nights, Lucchese lore claims, her face can still be glimpsed in the pool of the botanical garden below the walls.
Geology
The ramparts are the plain re-engineered: vast earthworks of sand and gravel dug from the Serchio's alluvium, faced with brick fired from the same valley clays. Lucca sits on flat floodplain ground with no natural crag to defend it, so the city in effect raised its own geology into a ring of artificial hills.
Wildlife & nature
The rampart promenade is a linear wood of nearly 700 plane trees, planted up with holm oak and lime and studded with ginkgo, cedar, tulip tree and horse chestnut. Red squirrels, tawny owls, green woodpeckers and jays use the old trunks, and the plane leaves turn russet along the whole four-kilometre circuit in November.
The view
A complete four-kilometre ring of tree-lined ramparts circles the city, with rooftop and tower views inward and the Apuan Alps floating on the horizon beyond the plain.
Photography
Shoot along the avenue of plane trees in low evening light, or from the bastions towards the Guinigi Tower and cathedral; autumn foliage adds colour to the promenade.
When to visit
Spring blossom and autumn colour flatter the tree-lined circuit; summer evenings bring the whole town up for the passeggiata, and winter mornings can be atmospherically misty.
Getting there
The walls encircle the historic centre a few minutes on foot from Lucca station; the Via Francigena passes directly beneath them as it threads through the city gates.
Where to stay
Sleeping inside the walls is part of the experience: pilgrim hostels and convent guesthouses take the credential, and hotels and B&Bs fill the lanes of the old town.
Food & water
Drinking fountains sit near several gates and in the streets below, and kiosks and cafes line the circuit; carry a bottle if you plan to walk or cycle the full ring.
Safety
The rampart path is shared with fast-moving bikes — keep to one side. Some inner bastion edges drop away unfenced; keep children close. In an emergency dial 112.
Accessibility
Gentle ramps lead up to the broad, level rampart promenade, making the full circuit manageable with wheels; the surface is smooth compacted gravel and tarmac.
Visitor tips
Walk or hire a bicycle for the full circuit at dusk when locals promenade; the ramparts give the best single overview of the city you have just walked into.
The guide, in full
The written guide to this site.
Climb the ramp at any of the gates and you step up onto one of the pleasantest surprises in Italy: a broad green boulevard running on top of a Renaissance rampart, four kilometres of it, all the way round the city without a single break. On one side the rooftops and towers of old Lucca; on the other, the plain, and beyond it the jagged Apuan Alps floating on the horizon. Below you the traffic mutters. Up here there are joggers, prams, dogs, courting couples, old men debating, and cyclists coming fast, so keep to one side and enjoy the show. Lucca had two earlier rings, Roman and medieval, before the Republic decided it needed walls that could survive gunpowder. These were built between fifteen forty-five and about sixteen fifty, with eleven arrow-headed bastions and thousands of labourers, a colossal outlay for a small independent state that intended never to be conquered. The strategy worked to perfection, in the most anticlimactic way imaginable: the guns were never fired at an enemy. No army ever came to test them. Instead the walls performed their one great public service in eighteen twelve, when the Serchio burst its banks and the flood came at the city. The gates were sealed, the ramparts held the water out, and the ring built to stop artillery instead stopped a river. Once the danger of war had clearly passed, Lucca did something rather civilised with its redundant fortress. After the duchy came to Maria Luisa of Bourbon in eighteen fifteen, her architect Lorenzo Nottolini reshaped the ramparts into a public promenade, and later in that century it was completed as a park. Today the walk is effectively a long thin wood: nearly seven hundred plane trees line it, planted up with holm oak and lime and studded with ginkgo, cedar, tulip tree and horse chestnut. Red squirrels run the branches, green woodpeckers laugh from the grass, jays flash between the trunks, and tawny owls call from the old trees after dark. In November the whole circuit turns russet, and the leaves come down in drifts along the ramparts. There is a ghost story too, because of course there is. Lucchese lore tells of Lucida Mansi, a beautiful noblewoman who could not bear the thought of growing old and struck a bargain with the Devil for thirty more years of youth. When the thirty years ran out he came for her in a blazing carriage that raced along these very ramparts and vanished. On moonlit nights, they say, her face still shows in the pool of the botanical garden below the walls. Look down as you pass that corner. You will look; everyone does. Take the full circuit if your legs will forgive you, ideally at dusk, when the whole city comes up for the passeggiata and the light goes amber on the brick. It is worth knowing what you are actually walking on. There is no crag beneath Lucca, no natural height at all: the ramparts are vast earthworks of sand and gravel dug out of the Serchio's own alluvium and faced with brick fired from the same valley clay. The city had no defensible geology, so it built itself some. Watch your footing where the inner bastion edges drop away unfenced, and keep children close. Then come down into the lanes for supper. Tomorrow the road goes south, but tonight you are inside the ring, and nothing has ever got in here uninvited.
Common questions
How old is The Walls of Lucca?
The Walls of Lucca dates from the Renaissance ramparts (16th–17th century) period.
How do I get to The Walls of Lucca?
The walls encircle the historic centre a few minutes on foot from Lucca station; the Via Francigena passes directly beneath them as it threads through the city gates.
Is The Walls of Lucca accessible?
Gentle ramps lead up to the broad, level rampart promenade, making the full circuit manageable with wheels; the surface is smooth compacted gravel and tarmac.
When is the best time to visit The Walls of Lucca?
Spring blossom and autumn colour flatter the tree-lined circuit; summer evenings bring the whole town up for the passeggiata, and winter mornings can be atmospherically misty.
Is there food and water at The Walls of Lucca?
Drinking fountains sit near several gates and in the streets below, and kiosks and cafes line the circuit; carry a bottle if you plan to walk or cycle the full ring.
Where can I stay near The Walls of Lucca?
Sleeping inside the walls is part of the experience: pilgrim hostels and convent guesthouses take the credential, and hotels and B&Bs fill the lanes of the old town.
What should I know before visiting The Walls of Lucca?
Walk or hire a bicycle for the full circuit at dusk when locals promenade; the ramparts give the best single overview of the city you have just walked into.
Is The Walls of Lucca safe to visit?
The rampart path is shared with fast-moving bikes — keep to one side. Some inner bastion edges drop away unfenced; keep children close. In an emergency dial 112.
Nearby on the route
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