City walls of Lucca, Renaissance city walls in Lucca, Italy
The City Walls of Lucca form a continuous ring of brick and earth that encircles the entire old town, shaded by plane trees planted along the top. Six gates cut through the fortifications, while eleven projecting bastions mark the outer perimeter.
The present circuit replaced Roman walls of 180 BC and medieval walls of the 11th–12th centuries. The Renaissance campaign began on 7 May 1504, driven by the Republic of Lucca's fear of Florence, and ended in 1648, with structural updates in the later 17th century. The result is 12 curtains and 11 bastions over 4,223 metres, never used in a siege.
The name simply calls them the walls of Lucca, and since the 1820s they have served as the city's public park. The broad lawns outside, once smaller outworks, now host events such as Lucca Comics & Games and the Lucca Summer Festival, which use the ramparts as a stage.
Access to the upper path is possible through all gates, and the route suits both pedestrians and cyclists equally. Comfortable shoes help when walking on the partly uneven surface, especially after rain.
In the early 19th century, the closed gates of this structure held back the flooding Serchio and saved the entire city from inundation. This unexpected success solidified the symbolic value of the fortifications far beyond their military function.
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