LUCCA (anc. Luca), a city of Northern Italy, capital of the above duchy, on the left bank of the Serchio, 12 miles from the sea, and 44 miles W. by N. of Florence by railway. It stands on a rich and fruitful plain, is encompassed by a rampart laid out in boulevards, and consists of clean and spacious, but crooked streets. The town is well supplied with water, brought by an aqueduct from the hills to the S. of the town. This great structure, begun in 1815 and completed in 1832, under the superintendence of Nottolini, measures 2 miles in length, and is supported on 459 arches. The appearance of Lucca, when seen from a distance, is striking, from the number of its towers and spires. Among its numerous ecclesiastical edifices, the principal are,—St Martin's Cathedral, and the churches of Saints Fredianus, Michael, and Romanus. The cathedral was founded in 1060 by Bishop Badagio, afterwards Pope Alexander II., and has frequently received repairs and additions. It exhibits a mixture of the Lombard and Gothic styles, and is profusely decorated with every manner of carving, fresco, and sculpture, from the hands of the most famous Italian artists. The church of St Fredianus was erected in the seventh century by King Pertaric of Lombardy, in honour of an Irishman of royal birth named Fredianus, who had left his native country to visit the city of St Peter, and
Lucia Bay who was rewarded for his zeal by receiving the episcopal see of Lucca. St Michael's church, founded in 764, and dedicated to the archangel, is built of white marble from the neighbouring quarries, and contains a colossal statue of that personage, besides many excellent carvings and paintings. The church of Romanus, belonging to the eighth century, possesses a celebrated picture of the Madonna by Bartolomeo, and others of less note. The Archbishop of Lucca has many ancient privileges, which have been bestowed on the see at different times by kings and popes. They are now, however, of little value. The palace of the duchy is situated here, and, though unfinished, is an extensive edifice, with a grand marble staircase, and contains a library of 40,000 volumes. One of the most interesting buildings is the poor-house, once the town-hall, built of red brick. It was erected in 1413, and served both for a stronghold and a palace. The most complete of the Roman remains here is the Piazza del Mercata, a ruined amphitheatre of two storeys of arches, and estimated to have held 10,700 spectators. It is now used for the town markets. The manufactures of the town are unimportant, chiefly comprising silk, wool, and paper. Silk, however, was at one time extensively manufactured here, and in the vicinity it was produced for the first time in Italy.
The ancient Lucia was a town belonging to the district of Etruria, although not possessed by Etruscans; and afterwards was included in Liguria. At the end of the third century B.C., however, it fell into the hands of the Romans, and, according to Velleius, received a Latin colony in 177 B.C. In 49 B.C. it was raised to the rank of a municipal town, and was frequently honoured at that time by the presence of the chief generals and senators of Rome, who formed the plans of their campaigns and political plots here. It did not, however, occupy a conspicuous position till after the fall of the Roman empire. The Goths found it strongly fortified, and a place of some importance. But it was not till the Lombard dynasty had declined that it rose to its greatest height. The twelfth century saw it a free town, governed by its own consuls, until dissensions among the aristocracy again reduced it to the state of a possession held by the most powerful of the nobles. After it had been, however, in the hands of the lords of Pisa for several years, a charter was obtained by the inhabitants from Charles IV. for the sum of 300,000 florins, by which it regained its freedom in 1370. But this freedom was gradually infringed, until the government became a regular despotism; the whole power being in the hands of a few noble families. This state of affairs was rudely changed, however, in 1799, when the French under Serrurier entered the town and seized all the most valuable arms, besides exacting a large sum from the people. Bonaparte, in dividing his empire, bestowed Lucca on his sister Elisa. It is now under the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Pop. 24,894. The famous baths of Lucca are 15 miles N.E. of the town.