Cars, motorcycles, and busses whiz at breakneck speed on the modern roadway that encircles this ancient town. Commerce is healthy here, just as it seems to always have been. Eyes divert, though, to a sea of emerald grass, a solid moat separating the road from a continuous stretch of forbearing massive walls – the acclaimed Mura di Lucca.

Lucca’s walls are a major source of pride for the Lucchesi, a crowning visual that encircles the historic center. Walled cities aren’t unusual in Italy, but unlike the majority, the length and breadth of Lucca’s defensive walls are fully intact. Once meant to keep others out, they now stand as the welcoming sentinels to all who wish to enter and discover one of Tuscany’s most authentically preserved towns.