Archive for 'Lucca'

Once you've found a luxury villa in Lucca and are headed there on a holiday, it might be tempting to stay within the Baroque walls of the beautiful city, especially as there is so much to see, despite its relatively small size. However, venturing beyond these walls is well worth it – not only for the stunning Tuscan landscape which surrounds but also for the villas on the outskirts of Lucca. These buildings were originally largely the summer homes of influential merchants. With frescoed interiors, sumptuous architectural detail and stunning gardens with waterworks ahead of their time, these villas are a treat to the senses, pleasant ventures into the past and historical and artistic gems. One particularly beautiful example is Villa Torrigiani.

The Orrido di Botri is an impressive gorge, made up of deep steep walls, which looks like a karstic canyon and was created by the eroding of the limestone rock of the Apennines by the Pelago creek. The creek, set between the craggy walls of the canyon, creates a perfectly scenic natural environment of great geological and naturalist interest. This whole area, located near Lucca, is part of a natural reserve which was established in 1971 to protect the unique and beautiful landscape and its inhabitants. It is home to beech, black hornbeam, orniello, leccio, maple and willow trees as well as wild linden and animals such as roe deer, deer, hares, squirrels, marmots, foxes, polecats and martens.

The walls of the Tuscan town of Lucca came into the news in recent years when comic-book fans took to scaling them in order to gain entry to the town for Lucca Comics, a comic-book festival. However, the walls have always been one of the most recognisable features of this charming town. They now attract tourists and locals alike who admire their construction and design and who also make use of them as a place to walk, jog and cycle. For leisure, exercise or getting to know the layout and atmosphere of the city, the walls are the best place to start! Find a villa with pool in Lucca and spend a day strolling or sweating it out on the city's most distinctive feature.

When you visit the city of Lucca in Tuscany, you would be forgiven for misidentifying one of the landmarks in town. An impressive aqueduct, the Acquedotto Del Nottolini, is located just outside of the city and plenty of visitors originally think that it is contemporaneous to many of the other Ancient Roman structures which dot the landscape of Italy. However, it is actually much more modern than that. This neoclassical gem was built for practical reasons and modelled after those older examples but actually dates to the 19th century. Find a luxury villa in Lucca and visit this stunning work of civic architecture for yourself!

Palazzo Pfanner stands out in a Lucca, a largely medieval city, as a beautiful baroque palace and gardens. It was begun in 1660 for the Moriconi family, silk merchants and nobility from the town. However, they were then forced to sell the building in 1680 due to a sudden change in fortune and financial situation. The Controni family then moved in. Having recently acquired a noble title, they marked their own change of fortune by renovating and enlarging the building.

If you want to admire the extraordinary job that they did in transforming and perfecting the palace, why not find a luxury villa in Lucca and drop by?