The third day of our Italian tour we went to Lucca. It was merely 30 minutes by train, and for architecture student it was a gem. Most importantly - it was heavily fortificated in the middle ages and the fortifications are brilliantly preserved. When you hop off the train at the station you approach the old town in a couple of minutes and you have to climp through it's solid high walls.

Once inside, it is very similar to other tuscan cities. Almost all buildings are painted in the shades of orange, which gives Lucca a strong and consistent character. There is a very impressive romanesque cathedral, we paid to see the interior and we were not dissapointed. Built in local white marble with dark ornaments, just like Santa Maria Del Fiore in Florence. The patterns on the facade were carved with such precision...

My personal favourite spot in Lucca was Piazza dell'Anfiteatro - a round piazza that once used to be a roman amfitheatre. The buildings of different heights are forming a closed circle, filled currently with loads of quality restaurants and little shops. We had lunch there and rested for a while sipping Aperol Spiritz. 

Just look through the pictures and you'll see that it has a very specific atmosphere for a Tuscan town. I also included a few shots I made from the train. Not perfect, but the views were incredible.