San Martino in Freddana holiday villa

Nearest Airport: Pisa at 35 Kilometres

Nearest Train: Lucca at 10 Kilometres

Nearest Motorway: Lucca at 11 Kilometres

Nearest Beach: beach at 17 Kilometres

This beautiful city is famous for its monumental 15th century fortified wall. But dig a little deeper and you find that its winding medieval streets actually follow the plan laid out by the Romans in 180BC. And before the Romans, Lucca was one of the major centres of Etruria, the ancient country of central Italy that more or less corresponds to modern Tuscany. Unsurprisingly then, Lucca is steeped in history. Your twelfth century building is just a small part of that. There are museums and churches, and the magnificent cathedral, the Duomo di San Martino, is the town’s finest Romanesque building, its impressive façade a triumph of sculpture, carving and inlay work – at just five minutes’ walk from the apartment. Modern delights include terrific restaurants, bars and shops, all within a few minutes’ walk. In Lucca’s winding streets, the pedestrian comes before the car, so you can move at your own pace. In fact wandering the streets is one of the great pleasures of the city.