Wooden or wrought iron, medieval or Renaissance, simple or inlaid with refined decorations and marvellous noble coats of arms, the doors of Lucca tell the story of the city and its past. An unusual walk through the historic centre, an alternative tour among doors, portals and gates, each one different, ready to unveil centuries of history, leading through fantastic palaces and gardens, tales and timeless characters and unexpected treasures that may lie even behind the most anonymous and unsuspected of doors.
The doors of Lucca are always open. Just open them and it is immediately magic!
Palazzo Bernardini, a door to the fantastic
In front of Palazzo Bernardini, in the heart of Lucca, the attention of those passing by is captured by the large door, designed by Nicolao Civitali, son of the Lucchese Renaissance master Matteo and strongly influenced by the Florentine style of the 16th century.
Sculpted and ornamented with beautiful decorations and usually open, the main door retains a charming style, a splendid wrought-iron rosette and magnificent doorsills with Moorish heads.
A closer look will not miss the strangely curved stone of the window to the right of the entrance door. Legend has it that during the construction of the majestic building at the beginning of the 16th century, the devil convinced the Bernardini, one of Lucca's oldest and most powerful merchant families, to tear down an image of the Madonna that was not in line with Civitali's design.
When the workmen began to work on the doorpost, the stone began to warp. And so each time an attempt was made to bring it back upright. Since then, the devil's stone has been one of the city's many mysteries.
Palazzo Mansi, a doorway home
Push open its beautiful and elegant door, surmounted by the coat of arms of the Mansi, a family of Germanic origin that became one of the most powerful in Lucca. Enter the palace, one of the most luxurious and refined in the city, now a national museum full of treasures to be discovered.
Built between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, it preserves much of the original furnishings, a picture gallery with works by Vasari, Tintoretto and Pontormo, and a precious and exuberant cycle of Flemish tapestries that cover the walls of the four rooms on the piano nobile up to the magnificent Alcove of the Spouses.
To open the doors of this stately home is to travel through the history of Lucca, to admire the silks of Lucca celebrated and worn all over the world, the gowns of the Gonfalonieri of the Republic and Princess Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Emperor Napoleon, listen to the tales of the sad love story of the beautiful Maddalena Trenta and the amorous adventures of Lucida Mansi, a noblewoman who lived in the 1600s, who can still be seen today on full moon nights appearing in the placid waters of the Botanical Garden pond after having sold her soul to the Devil in exchange for eternal beauty.
Palazzo Orsetti, a door to history
The magnificent monumental portals stand out against the simplicity of the palace, the residence first of the Diodati and then of the Orsetti. A real attraction for those crossing the typical streets of Via Santa Giustina and Via di Loreto.
The door facing the garden, attributed to the creative talent of the artist Nicolao Civitali, is a work of art amidst sandstone frames, relief trophies and at the top of the doors adorned with mythological figures of a triton and a mermaid.
From there it is a short step to the entrance of the palace, a long corridor halfway down which a scenic staircase opens up and on the landing the eye is drawn to the magnificent paintings of the Conjuring against Wallenstein by Pietro Paolini and a Cupid and Psyche by Pontormo.
And then on to the Hall of Mirrors, amidst sumptuous red curtains and exuberant chandeliers that transport one as if by magic to the noble atmosphere of 18th-century Lucca.
The Oratory of the Guardian Angels, a door to wonder
An almost anonymous entrance, hidden among the winding alleys and narrow streets of the historical centre.
A green wooden door, like so many others scattered around the old town, marked only by a fresco depicting a guardian angel with his feet slightly raised from the ground, intent on showing a child, held by the hand, the way to salvation.
Open this small door and enter a precious and unique treasure chest, a surprising and unexpected place, guided by angels and an explosion of colours and harmony.
The Oratory of the Angels, in Via dell'Angelo Custode, just a few steps from the Guinigi Tower, dates back to 1638 at the behest of the Lucchese monk Bonaventura Guasparini, who dedicated his life to the unfortunate.
On the walls of the hall, embellished by an organ that resounds for concerts and musical events, one is enraptured by an angelic journey through nine canvases made in the second half of the 17th century, from Saint Jerome and the Vision of the Apocalypse to masterpieces by Lucchese Girolamo Scaglia to Matteo Boselli, Pierfilippo Mannucci and Antonio Franchi.
Torre delle Ore, a door to the sky
Small doors for great views. In the very central Via Fillungo, in the crowded and teeming shopping street, it passes almost unnoticed.
A small dark green door, just under two metres high, set inside mighty, centuries-old stones, at the top of which a small golden plaque reads Torre delle Ore.
From this fairy-tale gate you can touch the sky with your finger, after having walked up the 207 steps to reach the top of the 50-metre tower.
An effort repaid by a marvellous view of the city and its maze of streets, the wonderful glimpses of the palaces and the red roofs of the houses.
Less famous than the Guinigi tower opposite, but beautiful, slender and with a special charm, since 1390 it has marked the city's hour with its chimes that can be heard in every corner. Since the mid-18th century, it has been clocked by a high-precision clock, a masterpiece of horological engineering by the Genevan Louis Simon.
Porta santa Maria, a gate in the Walls of Lucca.
Tall, mighty and spectacular, the Gates in the Walls like castles tower over the city.
To go through these gates, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, is to take a leap into Lucca's history among ancient portals, saints and virgins, heraldic coats of arms, mythological animals and the remains of chains and drawbridges. An experience to get to know the origins of the city.
From being a defensive system to repel external threats, they became mere gateways to the historic centre when the Renaissance walls were converted to civil use in the early 19th century.
Porta San Pietro, Porta Santa Maria and Porta San Donato are the oldest.
Inside the Walls one can also admire the monumental gates Porta dei Borghi, Porta San Gervasio and Porta San Donato vecchia, which delimited the city before the walls were enlarged.