Routes through the nature and landscapes of the Lucca area

San Jacopo road

The Saint's path through the gates of Lucca and ancient Roman tracks

The Jacobean Way from Florence to Lucca follows the ancient Roman tracks of the Via Cassia and the Via Aemilia Scauri. With the city of Pistoia at its centre, called the 'Santiago minor' because of the relic of the Apostle James kept there since 1145 A.D., before reaching Lucca the route encounters the 8th-century Church of San Cassiano a Vico, a building that has been renovated several times to its current elegant 18th-century design.

The route continues in the locality of Acquacalda where it skirts the canal that fed the industrial structures of the late 19th century, an industrious past of which there are still traces in this area today. The canal can be found in the historic centre of Lucca in Via del Fosso and already in the Middle Ages it supplied energy to the city's factories.

Meeting the cycle-pedestrian path, the route runs along the Serchio river until it reaches the city walls at Porta San Jacopo, which preserves evidence of the cult of the apostle. From Lucca the route continued towards the sea where pilgrims could embark for Spain and Santiago de Compostela.

STAGES
Pescia > Lucca 25 km
Lucca > Pisa 29 km