PISA VIAREGGIO AND LUCCA / TOP TOURS IN ITALY Rome Limousine Service, Rome Tour & Shore Excursions

Pisa, Viareggio and Lucca Tour

Pisa
Spend your time admiring the beautiful scenery of Pisa. A splendid excursion through the fertile and picturesque Tuscan countryside towards the historic university city of Pisa, famous for its architectural beauty. The countless masterpieces that have been turned out throughout the centuries show just how great an impact this city has had on civilization.

Lucca
A 30 minute drive from Livorno in the heart of one of Italy's richest agricultural regions will take you to Lucca. This city is one of Tuscany's well kept secret. The picturesque fortress town is steeped in history; it was here that Caesar, POMPEII and Crassus agreed to rule Rome as a triumvirate in 56 B.C. Later LUCCA was the first town that accepted Christianity. In the middle ages the city fell to Florence and during the French invasion Napoleon made LUCCA a Municipality and gave it to his sister Elisa whose name is still connected with a number of buildings and sites.

Viareggio
Carnival in Tuscany, Italy is not only a time to bring out the famous Venetian customs with colorful masks and long flowing robes - but also a national holiday to poke holes at their political machine. No one does it better than the folk at Viareggio in Tuscany. The artists of these amazing paper machè floats get their inspiration from local or international current events. They find colorful and amusing ways to make these events come to life in a way BIGGER than life. In February, CARNIVAL - when the weather is gray and spirits begin to sag after the holiday of Christmas and Befana - the Italians roll up there sleeves and begin to work hard at producing funny characters which reflect their frustrations of correct events, the local political situation and even the actions of world leaders. The Tuscans and Italians have a unique capability to laugh at themselves - and tease their political figures during this period. Carnival in Viareggio is a huge event which draws 100`s and 1000`s of persons - plus local and international attention.

Please dress respectfully for visiting religious monuments; local custom requires covering knees and shoulder. Comfortable walking shoes recommended.

All tours can be personalized and/or combined on request. In order to provide our clients with the best-in-class service, our English speaking driver guide will give running commentaries of what you are seeing and he will allow you enough time to visit each site avoiding the expensive charges of hiring a private guide.

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Leaning tower of Pisa	Lucca - San Michele	Campo dei Miracoli	Pisa Baptistry

Lucca	Viareggio (Carnival)	Lucca - Villa Grabau	Lucca - Cattedrale di San Martino

About Lucca...
Lucca was founded by the Etruscans (there are traces of a pre-existing Ligurian settlement) and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of its historical center preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza S. Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum.
Plundered by Odoacer, Lucca appears as an important city and fortress at the time of Narses. It became prosperous through the silk trade that got a start in the 11th century, to rival the silks of Byzantium. In the 10th and 11th centuries Lucca was the capital of the feudal margravate of Tuscany, more or less independent but owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.
For almost 500 years, Lucca was an independent republic. Dante’s Divine Comedy include many references to the great feudal families who had huge jurisdictions with administrative and judicial rights. Dante himself spent some of his exile in Lucca. Under masterly tyranny of Castruccio Castracani it became for a moment a leading state of central Italy, rival to Florence, until his death in 1328. Castracani's tomb is in the church of San Francesco. His biography is Machiavelli's third famous book on political rule.
Lucca was the seat of a convocation in 1408 that was intended to end the schism in the papacy. "Occupied by the troops of Louis of Bavaria, sold to a rich Genoese Gherardino Spinola, seized by John, king of Bohemia, pawned to the Rossi of Parma, by them ceded to Martino della Scala of Verona, sold to the Florentines, surrendered to the Pisans, nominally liberated by the emperor Charles IV. and governed by his vicar, Lucca managed, at first as a democracy, and after 1628 as an oligarchy, to maintain its independence alongside of Venice and Genoa, and painted the word Libertas on its banner till the French Revolution" (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911).
Learn more about Lucca...

About Pisa...
By far the best known sight in Pisa is the famous Leaning Tower which is but one of many architecturally and artistically important structures in the city's Campo dei Miracoli or "Field of Miracles", to the north of the old town center. The Campo dei Miracoli is also the site of the beautiful Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery). Pisa's origins are unknown. The city lies at the junction of two rivers, Arno and Auser (now disappeared) in the Tyrrhenian Sea forming a laguna area. The Pelasgi, the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Ligurians have variously been proposed as founders of the city. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians, Gauls and Carthaginians. In 180 BC it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name in Colonia Iulia obsequens. From 313 it became the seat of a bishopric. The power of Pisa as a mighty maritime nation began to grow on and reached its apex in the 11th century when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical Marine Republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare) of Italy. Learn more about Pisa...