Walls of Lucca

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Walls of Lucca
Mura di Lucca
Lucca, Italy
External view of the walls of Lucca
Coordinates	43°50′46″N 10°30′00″E / 43.8462233°N 10.5001148°E / 43.8462233; 10.5001148
Type	City wall
Height	12 meters
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Intact
Engineers	Jacobo Seghezzi, Galeazzo Alghisi, Baldassarre Lanci, Alessandro Farnese
Site history
Built	1504-1648
Built by	Republic of Lucca
Materials	stone, brick, earthwork
Battles/wars	None
Events	1812 Flood of Serchio River

The walls of Lucca are a series of stone, brick, and earthwork fortifications surrounding the central city of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. They are among the best preserved Renaissance fortifications in Europe, and at 4 kilometers and 223 meters in circumference they are the second largest intact example of a fully walled Renaissance city after Nicosia, Cyprus.^[1] The current walls of Lucca, which replaced earlier medieval and Roman fortifications, are the result of a construction campaign that started on May 7, 1504 and ended a century and a half later in 1648, with additional structural updates in the second half of the seventeenth century based on new knowledge and construction techniques. These walls play an important role in the cultural identity of the city of Lucca and its surroundings, and as a physical monument to the region's history, and Lucca's longstanding independence as a republic.

The walls were also conceived as a deterrent and have never seen military use. At the time of construction, the Republic of Lucca feared the expansionist aims of the Republic of Florence and subsequently, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. However, there was never an open war against the Grand Duchy. Although the Republic of Lucca did come into open conflict with the Duchy of Modena in the 16th and 17th centuries, these campaigns occurred exclusively in the Garfagnana, so the city of Lucca never underwent any siege and the walls were never used.

The only occasion in which the walls were put to the test was during the disastrous flood of the Serchio River in November 18, 1812. The doors were bolted and reinforced with mattresses, achieving a relative water tightness in the center of Lucca.

The structure was converted into a pedestrian promenade and public park in the 1820s under the rule of Maria Luisa de Borbón of Spain. The new use of the walls also affected the spaces outside the walls, which were converted from smaller fortifications into large lawns. This public use persists to the present day: the path above the walls remains heavily trafficked for recreation, and in the summer it also acts as a natural stage for shows and events. It is a major tourist attraction in the city of Lucca.