In the Middle Ages the street took its name from the Fillongo castle in Garfagnana, on which the Falabrina family, who lived in this street, exercised feudal rights. The family houses were located at the crossroads with via santa Croce and were characterized by a tower built on an arch. Hence the name of the street and the exact point from its beginning, known precisely as Canto D'Arco by locals.

Via Fillungo is one of the most important streets of the city: narrow, with high buildings, which seem to touch each other in some points. Looking up you can appreciate the composed and elegant facades of different historical periods: palaces of the aristocracy, but also the homes of the flourishing silk business workers, weavers in the first place. Buildings with a

vertical shape, adorned with mullioned windows with thin marble columns or with imposing cornices with sills mado of Guamo stone.

Proceeding from the Canto d'Arco on the right the churchyard of San Cristoforo opens up, which was the seat of the Academy of Merchants in the fifteenth century. Two signs forming a cross, on the right of the main door, are the "braccio" and "mezzobraccio", the comb sizes of the frames once used in Lucca.

A little further at the crossroads with via dell'Arancio, on the right the medieval Torre delle Ore is located. Originally property of several local aristocratic families, it was finally purchased in 1490 by the Republic of Lucca getting one of the typical symbols of the city. From the top, which can be reached by climbing 290 wooden steps, you can admire the beautiful panorama of Lucca's roofs and hills.

In this street section there are many old workshops that belonged to artisans, but also cafes and fashionable shops of the late nineteenth century with Liberty-style signs, elegant jewelers and perfumeries, today completed with international franchise stores.

At the crossroads with via Mordini (via Nuova), you ideally leave the Roman city. The street continues passing through the medieval quarters and opens a little further on Piazza San Frediano, where the church of the same name closes the square with a splendid Byzantine mosaic, a rare example of this art in Tuscany, on its facade.

On the other side of the square, the front part of the buildings hide the external walls of Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, built on the remains of the ancient Roman amphitheater dating back to the II century. A.D., which can be accessed from Piazza degli Scalpellini or from via dell'Anfiteatro.

At the end of via Fillungo, the imposing Borgo gate along the medieval walls marks another important route: the via Francigena crossed by the pilgrims arriving from Camaiore and heading to the cathedral of San Martino to venerate the Holy Face.