Archive for 'Lucca'

Fabbriche di Careggine is a town in the area of Lago di Vagli, or Lake Vagli, in Lucca, Tuscany. You have probably never heard of it before, and for good reason: rather than near Lake Vagli, it would be more correct to say that it is beneath the lake. The medieval town, a long-time home to talented metal-working artisans, was flooded in 1953 in order to create the artificial lake, a hydroelectric basin.

Every decade, the lake is drained in order to perform maintenance and the town emerges from the depths of the water once more, giving rise to its nickname as a “ghost town.” Hundreds of thousands attend every time to watch as it slowly rises out of the lake.

Each year, at the end of October, the medieval town of Lucca is transformed and plays host to Lucca Comics and Games, Italy's answer to Comic-con. In fact, the festival has outdone the numbers of that perhaps more familiar name. Attendance in recent years has reached over 400,000, making it the biggest festival of its kind in Europe and the second largest in the world after Comiket in Tokyo.

The festival was established in 1966 and continues to dominate the city centre of the town for five days each year. Lucca's normal population of 87,000 is massively increased and the streets are flooded by attendees dressed vibrantly.

Feeling energetic this summer? Why not find yourself a luxury villa in Tuscany and pay a visit to the Torre Guinigi, or Guinigi Tower, in Lucca?

You will have quite the climb ahead of you, with over 200 steps to the top, but I can assure you that it will be well worth the effort!

Lucca, famous for its medieval architecture and intact city walls was once home to many tall towers, precursors to skyscrapers. Of the 250 towers like this that once existed in the city, the Torre Guinigi is sadly one of the very few that still stands there today.

The Volto Santo or ‘Holy Face’ of Lucca is a famous wooden crucifix that is housed in the cathedral of San Martino in Lucca city. The Volto Santo is housed in a beautifully built Carrara marble chapel which was designed by Matthew Civitali.

Stay in a pretty vacation rental in Lucca and explore all that this spectacular city and its surrounding area has to offer in terms of culture and beauty.

There’s an interesting legend tied to the beautiful craftsmanship of this crucifix, specifically the carved face of Jesus as the name suggests, ‘Volto Santo’.

It’s said that the crucifix was carved by a man called Nicodemus who was mentioned in the Gospel of Joseph after Christ ascended from the dead.

If you are an appreciator of great beauty and architecture then a visit to the spectacular cathedral in Lucca would be a wonderful sight to behold! The building of the San Martino cathedral began in 1063.

Ornate additions were made over the next few hundred years which turned Lucca cathedral into one of the most beautiful religious buildings in all of Tuscany.

Choose from a lovely range of villas in Lucca to relax in after several days of exploring all the treasures this city and province have to offer!

The tomb of Ilaria del Carretto lies within the duomo which was sculpted by Jacopo della Quercia and the painting titled Madonna and Child with Saints Peter, Clement, Paul and Sebastian by Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Gaze upon the beautifully sculpted wooden crucifix called the ‘Volto Santo’ which is housed within an orthogonally shaped marble chapel within the duomo.