a city in central Italy in Tuscany, near the Serchio River (which empties into the Ligurian Sea); administrative center of Lucca Province. Population, 89,900 (1971); railroad junction. It has textile, tobacco, machine-building, paper, woodworking, and ceramics industries. Macaroni, olive oil, and wine are also produced.
The Ligurian settlement of Lucca was first mentioned in 218 B.C. From the sixth to the eighth century A.D., it was one of the residences of the Lombard kings; it later became a residence of the margraves of Tuscany. In the late 11th and early 12th centuries, after a struggle with the seignior-bishop, a commune was established in Lucca. Between the 12th and 14th centuries the city became a large commercial and trade center (silk and cloth). In 1316, Castruccio Castracani, who had extended the city’s domains, became the signore of Lucca. From the 15th to the 18th century, Lucca was an oligarchy. It was taken by the French in 1799-1800. From 1805 to 1814 the city was the administrative center of the Lucca and Piombino vassal principality, which was created by Napoleon and ruled by his sister Elisa Bacciocchi. Between 1814 and 1847 it was the administrative center of the Lucca and Piombino duchy, ruled by the Bourbons. In 1847 the city was ceded to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1860, Lucca became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Architectural monuments in Lucca include the ruins of Roman walls and the remains of an ancient theater and amphitheater. Among the many fine buildings are the Romanesque Cathedral of San Martino (11th-15th centuries, Guidetto da Como and others; campanile, 13th century); the churches of San Frediano (1112-47) and San Michele (12th-13th centuries), the Renaissance Palazzo Pretorio (1492-1588, designed by Matteo Civitali), the Palazzo della Prefettura (1578-1728, begun by Bartolomeo Ammanati and finished by F. Pini according to F. Juvara’s plans), the Villa Guinigi (a museum of Roman and Italian art), and the National Art Gallery of the Palazzo Ducale (Tuscan painting).