Strade di Lucca Grand Tour
The Strade di Lucca Grand Tour is an artistic and cultural route through nature, giving cyclists the opportunity to ride across a varied territory where plains alternate with hills and mountains. You can set off on this route from the main square of each of the six municipalities that make up the territory of the Piana di Lucca (Lucca Plain), riding safely along bike paths and little-known secondary roads with little traffic. You can cycle through the green hills of olive groves and vineyards, typical of this area, while admiring lands dotted with lavish historic villas and castles, passing through fairy-tale villages and small towns also in search of the places once cherished by the great maestro Puccini. The route is almost all on asphalt, except for a few stretches of bicycle path along the Serchio River, which is a dirt track but very smooth.
The description of the itinerary starts here, setting off from the historic center of Lucca.
After reaching the Serchio River to the north, we continue by following the beautiful river park bike path that will take us to Ponte a Moriano.
We leave the river here, to visit two of the most beautiful villas in the Lucca countryside: Villa Reale and Villa Grabau. We then carry on along a beautiful stretch through the Apennine forests, tackling the toughest climb of the tour, which is 13 km long and will take us from the 70m elevation of the valley floor to the 979 m of the tour’s "Cima Coppi" (Coppi Summit). Just before the peak, on our right you will see the ancient Church of San Bartolomeo in Pizzorna. We then begin the descent that takes us into the valley of the Pescia torrent.
Arriving at Villa Basilica, now on the valley floor, we can take ten minutes to admire the beautiful 12th-century Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta. We continue downhill to Collodi, the beautiful village, with ‘Orange Flag’ recognition, spectacularly enclosed by the majestic Villa Garzoni. Continuing south we then come to the imposing Fortress of Montecarlo di Lucca and lastly the village of Altopascio. From here, we move westward to return to Lucca, but in a non-linear way, wandering across the plain along small roads surrounded by greenery, discovering other gems, such as Capannori, Villa Torrigiani and the Parish Church of Segromigno in Monte. Next, we cross Lucca, coming out of Baluardo Santa Maria, to head back to the Serchio River, this time to its westernmost stretch. At the Rocca di Ripafratta (Ripafratta Fortress) we cross the river to reach the iconic Castle of Nozzano . We continue westward to the shores of Lake Massaciuccoli, near the LIPU (Italian Bird Protection League) oasis. The lake was one of the places most loved by the maestro Puccini, an Artist who owned several villas and homes in these places. Continuing northwards, we soon come to Villa Puccini in Chiatri, isolated in the greenery and with a splendid, sweeping view all the way to the coast. Our itinerary continues to zigzag along the sides of the Lucca hills, past parish churches, villas and ancient hamlets, until our return to Lucca from Porta Sant’Anna.
Itinerary by Strade di Lucca Bike Hub.