In Lucca, in the great churches, as in the alleys, there are many signs left by the passage of this important road.

Lucca at that time was still surrounded by the first circle of walls, the Roman one. By convention, the route through the city begins at Porta San Donato, which in the Middle Ages, when pilgrimage as a religious vow was at its height, was the northern gate. From here, the first destination sought by pilgrims was undoubtedly the cathedral of San Martino where the Holy Face was kept, which today we know is the oldest wooden sculpture in Europe. Over the centuries, countless legends and miraculous stories have gathered around this figure throughout Europe, and a considerable ‘treasure’ is now kept in the Cathedral Museum.

For its importance in the history of the city and for the devotion that the people of Lucca have always brought to it, the Holy Face is the very symbol of pilgrimage to Lucca and is often found depicted on religious and civic architecture and the protagonist of paintings and sculptures.

In the atrium of the church, other decorative elements recall this important period: the labyrinth of divine love, the same depicted in the cathedrals of northern Europe, a portrait of Countess Matilda who did so much for the pilgrims, an inscription in Latin that is an oath of the moneychangers of Lucca who pledged not to deceive the pilgrims under the portico of San Martino or in the hospices where they served.

Another place that recalls the passage of numerous pilgrims to Lucca is the Altopascio alley. The name itself alludes to the presence of a hospitale run by the monks who, a little further on, at Altopacio, had founded one of the major places of hospitality along the route in a large building around which the historic centre of the town now gathers. The Tau symbol can still be seen on a coat of arms on the façade of the small neo-Gothic building.

In a small street next to the church of San Frediano, the well in the Fatinelli building recalls the miraculous episode involving Saint Zita and a pilgrim for whom the saint, having nothing else to offer, changed the water from the well into wine.

Via Francigena Entry Point is a virtual itinerary along the Via Francigena in which to experience, in just a few steps, the whole experience of walking.