Piana di Lucca

The Province of Lucca is divided into 34 municipalities; only 6 of them are in the plain. One of the largest in Italy is the municipality of Capannori with its 40 hamlets. The other centres are Altopascio, Montecarlo, Porcari and the small commune of Villa Basilica. The Piana di Lucca is of course flat, but it is surrounded by beautiful hills set against the background of the Pizzorne highlands on one side and the Monti Pisani on the other.

The origin of most villages is Medieval, but recent archaeological excavations have shown that settlements existed in this area since the Bronze Age. After, the territory remained uninhabited for a long time; however, from the beginning of the Vth century B.C., the Etruscans appeared in the region of Fossa nera near Porcari followed, much later, by the Romans.

With the arrival of the Lombards and the creation of new roads, among them the Via Francigena, the population begun to increase. Because of the frequent passage of armies and mercenary troops the villages were fortified; the unhealthy conditions in the plain, especially close to the marshes around the lake of Bientina, prompted the inhabitants to move to the hills.

The Piana di Lucca with its suggestive landscape and well rooted folklore has, therefore, a very rich history.