p r e s e n t s
North West Tuscany for the Independent Tourist
IN PICTURES
Tour 21: Bagni di Lucca, the Spa Town where Time Stands Still
Time may well have forgotten to haul Bagni di Lucca into the 21st Century but my guess is that few visitors to this grand old majestic resort would want it any other way. 
So lovely and in tact is the place that if this tranquil little spa town was to be dragged into another century it would be the twentieth, for seldom does one come across a community, let alone a resort, with such an interesting plethora of beautiful old buildings still dominating the center of town. Perhaps Bagni di Lucca best renders the qualities I most love about North West Tuscany: 
no one around these parts seem the least bit interested in tearing down the old and, temporarily I’m sure, empty buildings. Quite obviously they will all be put to quite splendid and appropriate use one day, but for the moment they patiently await their new occupants with an air of genteel indifference. As such Bagni di Lucca’s fascinating architecture proves an irresistible draw to those of us who derive much pleasure from the company of fine old resplendent buildings. 
Tucked deep within the folds of a twisting, winding valley Bagni di Lucca has been renowned for its thermal springs since the Etruscan and Roman times. The region was called “Corsena”. Lucca occupied the territory of Bagni di Lucca in the 12th century, and during the 14th century, with eyes on the revenue resulting from visitors drawn to the thermal springs, poured money and resources into the town. Consequently the commune developed and prospered as visitors, including international figures, flocked to the booming resort, reaching its greatest fame during the 19th century, and especially during the French occupation during which Napoleon and his sister, Elisa Baciocchi, built their summer residences. Soon thereafter casinos, dance halls, fine restaurants and splendid hotels were quick to follow their lead. 
Strange really: to think about the extent to which people gambled, danced and drank the night away in this wonderful cluster of curious old buildings. Robert Browning and his wife, famous English poets, spent much time here in Bagni di Lucca, and for a while it was quite absolutely the place to be for musicians, artists, crowned heads, and assorted posers alike. The Germans occupied Bagni di Lucca, along with many other towns located in the Apennines, as part of their last ditch Gothic Line; deeply dug concrete fortifications, built with slave labor in an attempt to mount one last desperate bid to hold back allied advances towards the end of World War II. Many houses and mansions were taken as residences for German soldiers. So much to see and do then here in Bagni di Lucca. I hope you enjoy your scroll… equally as much as that nice, hot, oh-so-blissful, long, long thermal soak.
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For those following the North West Tuscan Tour in the literal sense Bagni di Lucca affords the independent tourist ample opportunity for some top quality R&R. I know, I know… to date we have been darting here, there, and everywhere; climbing towers and hiking hills; strolling streets, promenades… you name it. And don’t think that just because we are here in the lovely spa town of Bagni di Lucca that all the walking, hiking, biking, rambling and exploring is done – far from it! Still to come are the powerhouses of both Lucca and Pisa, not to mention Pistoia. But for this and the next tour its time to simply relax and kick back. If you have ever clicked on my Rogue Carver on the Loose in Italy series of real time dispatches you may have perhaps stumbled upon my June in San Rocchino post. If so then you may perhaps have an inkling of just what’s to come. However, once you have relaxed yourself to thermal content you might be interested to know that our next tour takes us not only to the most idyllic guesthouse it is possible to imagine, but provides superb outdoor swimming opportunities. And so... you should be able to lap your way to slimming-off some of those exquisite Tuscan meals you’ve been so feverishly enjoying since the moment you touched down, way back in Pisa… oh, so long, so very long ago – or so now it would seem. More on Borgo a Mozzano, with its incredible dispensing milk machine, the aforementioned grim and menacing Gothic Line, and much more, when we embark upon tour 22 of the North West Tuscan Way: In Pictures. But for now, just sink back into that huge, freshly drawn hot mineral bath. And soak. Just, soak.
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and now
the slideshow
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thanks for visiting martincooney.com
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next
The North West Tuscan Way: In Pictures
San Rocchino Swimming Pool
Tour 22: Borgo a Mozzano, a Gothic Line, and a Glorious San Rocchino
coming soon
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ΜαℜΤ¡Ν
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