Lucca - Duomo di Lucca

Lucca existed already in Etruscan times and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The Diocese of Lucca dates back to the first century, legends tell, that St. Paulinus, a disciple of St. Peter, was the first Bishop of Lucca. In medieval times Lucca was the residence of the Margraves of Tuscany. After the death of Matilda of Tuscany (1115), Lucca constituted itself as an independent republic. Actually the "Republic of Lucca" existed from 1160 to 1805.

Approaching the Cathedral of Saint Martin, the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca. The construction of the cathedral started in 1063, when Anselm (later Pope Alexander II) was bishop here. Of the original structure the apse and the campanile, seen here, remain.