Tuscany Day 4: Its name is Lucca

We left Chianti on Monday and made our way back to Florence to meet up with CC. From there, it was a thirty minute train ride to Lucca, a little city with the enviable reputation of being one of the richest during the days of the high Renaissance. It's lovely, with old well-preserved cities and alleys, charming views of the hills and the grandest churches within the smallest space:

It also has the amenities of a modern city, like a cinema:

Lucca has the reputation of having the best olive oil in the region, and perhaps concomitantly, the best food. An ordinance required restaurants in the city to serve only traditional Luccan cuisine, which is great for us tourists, but for locals, perhaps not so much:

And my first paparazzi shot! It's the Oscar-winning actress who also inspired my short-lived martial arts career: