THE GREAT AREA OF LUCCA, THE GARFAGNANA AND VERSILIA.

If one would ask me "why one should buy a country house in the province of Lucca?" there could be different answers. The first , probably a bit "cold" is based on facts and numbers: that with an area of 1773 square kilometers, the province of Lucca takes in a large portion of western Tuscany and is served by an modern transport and logistical system.

It includes an excellent network of highways and superhighways and rail lines linking the area with various parts of Tuscany, Italy and Europe in general. Each year, a million passengers use the Galileo Galilei International Airport at Pisa and Livorno is a first-class port, from which one can leave to visit the beautiful Tuscan Archipelago. But what about the rest?

The second reason maybe one of culture. Tuscany was originally inhabited by tribes of Ligurians and by the Etruscans. Lucca was a city of the Ligurians. When the Romans arrived, they allied themselves with the Etruscans against the Ligurians who fled into the Apuan Alps. Lucca is first mentioned in 218 B.C., when the Roman general Sempronius regrouped here after an unsuccessful battle with Hannibal. In 177 B.C., a Roman colony was established and in 56 B.C. Cæsar, Pompey and Crassus renewed the triumvirate at Lucca. The main streets of the city were the "cardo maximo" which ran in a north-southerly direction corresponding to the modern Via Fillungo, and the "decumano maximo" corresponding to the modern Via S. Croce, which ran in a east-westerly direction. 

If a third reason is required look no further than the access to activities, different landscapes and culture that Lucca offers. Just a short distance to the south of Lucca is the area of the Monti pisani, highly appreciated since the 18th century for its olive-groves and for the famous monuments like the Charterhouse of Calci, the Romanesque churches, the medieval fortresses and the ancient convents and monasteries. A great panorama can be admired from the rural villages set on the mount slopes, extending from the Pisan hills to the Florentine plain, and from the Apuan Alps to the Sea Horizon.

To the north of the town you quickly climb into the region known as the Grafagnana with its verdent hills and the towering apuane alps. In the winter the zone is served by the impressive ski resort of Abetone about 1 to 1.5 hours drive from the city walls.

West of Lucca is the ever popular Versilian coast with many resorts such as Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi and Lido di Camaiore. The extensive beaches offer a very civilised way of cooling down the hot summer days.

Travelling the direction of many millions of tourists of the past few centuries the easterlky route will carry you to Florence within an hour and from there on to the heart of Chianti, Siena and beyond.