Good Water Street

In a sort of holiday ritual, a line of orderly bottlers awaits their turn on Sunday morning at the fountain in San Quirico di Guamo. It's the first jet to emerge from the aqueduct pipes, and this earns them the loyalty of the people of Lucca.

Others prefer the sources of Sant'Andrea di Compito, others those of the Rio di Vorno and not infrequently enthusiasts compare notes arguing the quality of their preferred source.
There are 13 springs. Those who love country walks can follow this itinerary across the Lucca plain in search of fountains and springs in the quiet villages at the foot of Monte Pisano.

In Guamo

The aforementioned Chiattino fountain (the large fountain), which is regularly used by residents, is a cast iron fountain, located beneath the arches of the aqueduct. It was designed in the shape of a parallelepiped, curved at the top, with a coat of arms in the center. The base is made of stone. Opposite, in the village of San Quirico, around the small 5th-century parish church, are clustered 18th-century courtyard houses, large paved farmyards, and granaries with "mandorlato" walls, designed in a house-of-cards, checkerboard, or slash pattern to protect all the seeds from the rain while allowing fresh air to pass through.
From here, a path enters the woods and leads to the area known to everyone in Lucca as "the golden words." On a small bridge near the springs, an inscription commemorates the completion date of the works, 1836, and the initiator, Charles Louis of Bourbon. It is the heart of the monumental park of the Aqueduct, the 19th-century structure that collects water from 54 springs and channels it to the fountains in Lucca's historic center.
Here, the impermeable rock retains surface water, and the dense Mediterranean forest thrives. Its dark leaves dominate the landscape, along with holly, butcher's broom, elderberry, and strawberry tree. The lush undergrowth is home to numerous varieties of ferns, some rare, as well as cistus, heather, and broom, which bloom profusely in spring.

In Sant'Andrea di Compito The Capo di Vico spring is located on the edge of town, along the road that climbs Monte Serra, near the medieval bridge that crosses the Rio Visona di Compito. The area features two fountains and an old public washhouse on the banks of the Visona stream, which flows just below. On the opposite bank are the houses of the village of Capo di Vico. Near the spring, a small path is lined with various varieties of camellias. On the other side of town, in the woods at the foot of the watchtower, is the San Pierino or San Pietro spring. This fountain is particularly renowned for the gentleness of its waters and is used regularly by the locals, with three spouts from which water flows and a large washhouse.

Not far from the Capo di Vico springs lies the Camelieto del Compitese. The moist, cool, and sheltered soil of these hills is ideal for the beautiful camellias, brought from the East along with rich cargoes of silks, spices, and other ornamental plants. Their beautiful, rich flowering, albeit brief, was appreciated, as was the possibility of cultivating new varieties for each garden. A flowerbed, a grove, or an espalier of camellias still replaces the more traditional roses in the villas of the Compitese, where over a hundred varieties are cultivated, including the sinensis used to make green tea. Particularly attractive are the centuries-old camellias at the nurseries and Villa Borrini and Villa Orsi, the Camelieto itself, which today houses nearly three thousand different varieties.

In Vorno, still at the foot of Monte Pisano, but on the western slope. A village of Lombard origin, in the 16th century, the Tegrimi, Mansi, and Trenta families, wealthy merchants from the Lucca aristocracy, organized their properties with a new system of estates with sluices, of which the characteristic stone walls embellished with creepers, vines, and flowers remain. In the 18th century, thanks to the abundance of water, two paper mills were opened alongside the already numerous mills and olive presses, one of which still exists and is well preserved.

The main fountains here are the Vorno Fountain (between Via del Cimitero and Via di Valle), with two basins positioned to the sides of the gate pillars of the main entrance to Villa Guerrieri Brancoli. They feature a basin supported by a stone base that rests on the paving stone at the entrance to the villa; the Via di Valle Fountain, a cylindrical, single-cast iron fountain; and the Via per Vorno Fountain, built in the early 20th century as an imposing structure with a double basin and a vertical wall decorated with pilasters, a denticulated cornice, a crescent-shaped tympanum, and two lion sculptures surmounting the central tympanum on either side.

Unfortunately, in 1965, the monument was significantly reduced in height. The current fountain is the result of a radical renovation that took place in 2001. The sculptures that surmount the fountain at the far sides are reclining lions with muscular bodies and thick manes, facing each other with their muzzles turned toward the sides where the basins are located.

Near the fountains, signs have been installed reporting water quality analyses with the main chemical and mineral characteristics, a brief history of the source, and a map with the complete route of the "Via della buona acqua."