Lucca: Sleeping Beauties and Holy Faces

We continue our tour of Lucca’s main sights. One of the town’s most famous residents was the opera composer Giacomo Puccini—known for La bohème, Tosca, and many other marvelous works—who lived here in the 19th century and whose house is now a charming museum. We’ll also explore the Church of San Michele in Foro, with its astonishing architecture and artistic symbolism, the Guinigi Towers, which speak to the town’s medieval wealth, and the main cathedral, which contains the famous Holy Face of Lucca, one of the oldest carvings of the crucified Christ, and a real-life “sleeping beauty.” You’ll see why this town continues to draw and delight travelers, year after year, from all over the world.