Towers of Lucca

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Lucca is a town of towers. In the Middle Ages the number of privately built towers and church towers reached 170. Most private towers are long gone, but a couple still stand. The belltowers, however, dominate the skyline in all directions. Here is a selection of medieval beauties for you to marvel at:

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San Frediano

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San Martino

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Sant’ Agostino

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San Michele

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Santi Giovanni e Reparata

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Torre delle Oro

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Just kidding 😉

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San Giusto

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San Salvatore reflected

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If you would take a guess which one of these towers belongs to the Cathedral, which would it be?

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The correct answer is the second one, San Martino. Not the obvious choice perhaps.

And if you want to see the most spectacular of the Lucca towers, which I am embarrassed to say I missed shooting, have a look here at Torre Guinigi.

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Lucca lions

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Since I am a lion collector, not really for myself but for my friend who is the real lion hunter, I always look out for any marble or other cats I might come across. And Lucca had a few lovely kitties on display.

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First I spotted these two chums with their eagle buddy looking out over the walled city from the top of a villa. I was on the wall, so only saw them from behind. Nice curly manes on these.

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This one I found on the cathedral facade. Not quite sure what he is up to, but it does look a bit violent.

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The final two in my small selection are the ones guarding one of the main city gates. I don’t know if this one actually takes his job seriously, or if he’s just really enjoying it…
Maybe he’s just happy his tail is long enough to whisk away mosquitoes…

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… and what happened to his unlucky brother we will never know. Dropped not only his jaw but his whole face, poor sod.

More cats to come from Florence later on. Hope you enjoyed the Lucca lions!

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