Italy: Lucca: 8 of 12

May 04, 2025

Our travels brought us to Lucca via bus... we've used smaller vans (two for all ten of us), a small bus that carried maybe fifteen, and several full-sized buses, as was the case with this leg of the trip.

We were using an audio system which included mobile receivers with earpieces for each person in our group, and a transmitter for our guides. The system enabled us to hear everything the guides were telling us, and served to keep the group together in crowds (piano, piano!... meaning slowly, carefully). Truth be told, the system also served to bring wayward members back to the flock when the need arose...

We did observe other groups, many larger than ours, struggling to hear their guides. The audio systems were clearly next-level in the industry. Yay Tauk!

Yes we did visit a church in Lucca:

I don't have a lot of info about this church, but I did get a shot inside a church, and the timestamp proves we were in Lucca... so a senior moment. Fear not, that's why there's an Internet!!

The shot I got is of a mummified corpse inside a church. One would think that that would merit a memory, and yes, we both remembered seeing it, but... no context. So, my subsequent research found all the info we need to fill in the blanks. First, the case in point:

I know... how could we forget? But it turns out it's a legit story. And yes, I do have a separate shot of this church, San Michele Foro. Shocking, I know:

And, I have a rather academic reference for the condition of the mummy itself - one San Davino Armeno. From the reference:

Davino left Armenia and, after a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome, arrived in Lucca in the year 1050. He died in the Tuscan city during a stop of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Click here for the rest of his story.

As to Lucca itself, it's a walled city, which I had thought was out in the middle of nowhere. Turns out, that's not exactly the case.

Here's a photo that's not mine, credit Wikipedia and specifically https://arne-mueseler.com/. I believe the frame is scrollable, left-to-right, if one clicks on it to link out to the web version... in any event, 89,000 or so living within the wall, the surrounding countryside's population is over 384,000:

My own shot of the wall:

Note that not only have they preserved the wall, but they've enhanced it... it's actually a park, with manicured grass, trees, sidewalks... and views. For instance, a residence near the wall, from the wall:

We were told that it was a movie set, but of course we don't remember what movie, nor the stars of the movie. Let's just say Sophia Loren. She was everywhere else picturesque in Italy...

Last, we need to touch on the musical genius that Lucca gifted the world... two, actually.

First up, Luigi Boccherini, composer and cellist: