A journey back in time in just a few hundred meters leads through the nineteenth-century gate Porta Elisa, the medieval Porta San Gervasio and Protasio up to the beginning of Via Santa Croce, where once one of the access gates of the Roman city was located.

Porta Elisa, opened by Napoleon's sister along the road from Florence, is the "nineteenth-century" access to Lucca.

Along this sort of historical "telescope" some buildings of particular importance can be noticed. Villa Bottini, built by the Buonvisi family in the second half of the 16th century and surrounded by an Italian garden with nymphaeum where you can take a break in the cool shade.

Via del Fosso, which takes its name from the "public conduit" built at the end of the fourteenth century along the medieval walls, is one of the most romantic and "picturesque" streets of the city.

And finally, the Church of Santa Maria "Forisportam" rich in decorative classical elements, lions, capitals and sculptures, used on the facade and the inside.

On the square there is still the column that marked the start and finish line of the horse race in the Roman period.

If you are in the mood for discovery, enter inside the church, also called Santa Maria Bianca. You will find, in the left transept, a sundial that marks the time along a trace on the floor. In the atrium of the nearby cloister (which now houses an primary school) a monumental magnolia grandiflora can be admired.