THE WANDERER'S GUIDE TO LUCCA -- PART 5

THE BEST "STORY BEHIND THE BEAUTY 

AND HISTORY" GUIDEBOOK WE'VE SEEN

Palazzi (palaces in Italian) are as remarkable as the food in central Italy.

Some evolved out of Medieval towers that were constructed for protection, not status.

Most palazzi, though, are status symbols that have stood the test of time.

While Americans tear down buildings barely a quarter century old, the Lucchese preserve centuries-old palaces.

Some become museums, others converted into offices but many still serving as residential showplaces for wealthy merchant families.

Lindquist's book details nearly 100 palazzi, including the Palazzi Guinigi, a pair of gothic palaces.

One even features a 130-foot-tall tower with oak trees growing on top of it, the Torre Guinigi, which you can climb for a bird's eye view of the city.

"Both palazzi were built about 1375. The one on the east probably was built first, by Francesco Guinigi, 'padre della patria,' on the foundations of medieval buildigns and the Roman wall," the author writes of the palace-owner honored as "father of the fatherland."

The palazzo with the tower remained in one branch of the Guinigi family all the way to 1956, when it was purchased by the town.

Order the book at www.lindquistguides.com

The Wanderer's Guide to Lucca review 

continues tomorrow -- September 2