Lucca

 So many friends told me that Lucca was a place that I should visit. I'm very obedient. At midday I jumped on the train to Viareggio and then swapped to the train to Lucca.  Lucca is a walled city,  and was an important city and fortress even in the sixth century. For some reason (silly me) I imagined that Lucca would be a port town (it's the Croatian in me). If anyone else thought that, thanks - but it isn't.

I was surprised when I got off the train and saw the big walls. There was such an expanse of grass, with paths across it, with not many people around - so I followed two local women who looked as though they were going to music class - they were carrying instruments (I know, reductive) and they disappeared into the walls via tunnels so I followed, nonchalantly, along one tunnel, then up another, and emerged at the back of a huge church. A Big Church, the mother of all churches! 

And there were the crowds, crowds of crowds, crowds of people with ear pieces listening to a tour guide (mostly American), clearly off a cruise ship 'doing' the popular sites. (Mind you, who am I to judge, I'm there for the same reason, albeit solo tripping, not moving in an orchestrated wave...)

The church, (duomo) another St Martin's, was the first one that I've ventured into where there was a charge, but it was well worth it. Look at this beauty. I've just read a book called One Illuminated Thread which was premised around the painting The Visitation, and there in St Martins Cathedral was a version of that painting - I was so excited - I've been looking for this painting in every other church I have visited. The one in the book was by Mariotto Albertinelli, where the one in St Martins was by Jacobo Ligozzi.  The two women in the painting are Mary, pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth, pregnant with St John the Baptist - the painting's appeal is the glance shared between these two women - search it on google, there are heaps of different versions.

I think each of these tiled areas on the floors are graves. (Should you walk on them? Really?).

I wandered the narrow streets, dodging tour groups, although admittedly also trying to listen in.

I wanted to know what these are - they were on the buildings at regular paces, and I suspect they are for tethering horses? Thoughts?

OHHHH I just did a google search - Wikipedia says:

They are of three main types: ferri da cavallo have a ring for tethering horses, and are set at about 1.5 metres from the ground; holders for standards and torches are placed higher on the façade and on the corners of the building; arpioni have a cup-shaped hook or hooks to support cloth for shade or to be dried, and are set near balconies.^[1]

Good old google!

I did hear a tour guide say that the Roman Amphitheatre was created as an afterthought by demolishing sufficient houses to get the internal arena. The houses around it are curved, but difficult to show that in the photos. 

By this time I was hot, bothered, hungry and thirsty so I hoovered up a piece of pizza, ate a gelato (only because I spotted the lemon and basilica one!), found my way back to the tunnels and jumped on the train back to Pietrasanta. (Squat toilet at the train station (thank goodness for yoga) and then the self serve machine on the platform swallowed my coins but laughed at my expectation that the bottle of water would drop out...)

Note to NZ- get better trains.