DUCHY OF. See TUSCANY.

(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 Lucena 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 Mercato, 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 Lucera 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.N.E. of the town.

Luce Bay, an inlet of the Irish Sea, on the S. coast of Scotland, Wigtonshire, so called from the small River Luce which it receives at its head. It divides the county by a broad and deep indentation into two peninsulas, the one terminating in the Mull of Galloway on the W., and the other in Burrow Head on the E. of the bay. It is 19 miles broad at the entrance, 16½ miles long, and about 7 miles broad at the head. Owing to the shifting sands of the bay, it is considered dangerous to navigation.

Lucena, a town of Spain, province of Cordova, in a beautiful plain near the small River Cascajal, 36 miles S.S.E. from Cordova. The town is composed of 3000 houses, mostly well built and commodious; the streets being also broad and well paved. The Plaza del Coso contains a fine public park planted with trees. The parish church was begun in 1498 on the ruins of a mosque, and finished in 1544. It is built of freestone, and measures about 135 feet in length by 71 in breadth. On the high altar is a very fine copper bas-relief of the Passion. The town likewise contains 3 hospitals, 3 public schools, and 10 convents, of which the most remarkable, in an architectural point of view, are those of St Augustin and of the Bare-footed Carmelite Nuns. The town enjoys a very salubrious climate, and is well supplied with water, there being 15 public fountains in and near it, besides private wells to almost every house. About 3½ miles E. of the town are the mineral waters of the Horcajo, containing a large proportion of sulphur, and resorted to in cutaneous diseases. The surrounding country is fertile and well watered, producing oil, wine, and cereals, and affording excellent pasture for horses, cattle, and hogs. The principal branches of industry are the hardware and pottery manufactures. Their lamps are especially celebrated, being made of bronze, copper, &c., variously alloyed, and very beautifully worked; they not only supply Spain and Portugal, but are exported to the contiguous districts of France, to Algiers, and the Havana. The earthenware manufacture consists chiefly of the large jars with which they supply all Andalusia, and which are used for the storing of oil, wine, and brandy. Some hard white soap is also made. The commerce is confined to the exportation of cereals, oil, vinegar, brandy, lamps, and the above-mentioned jars. There is a yearly fair on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of May, in which all sorts of hardware utensils in tin and copper, earthenware, crystal, and cattle, are exposed for sale.

There are numerous Roman and Gothic remains in Lucena. It was taken from the Moors early in the fourteenth century, and it was in the attempt to recapture it in 1488 that King Boabdil was taken prisoner. Lucena has given birth to various celebrated men, of whom may be mentioned Alvarez de Solomayor, Barazona Solo, author of Las Lagrimas de Angélica, and Polich de Cardona, author of a work on military geometry. Pop. 16,652.