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For our first excursion from Lucca, we opted for a short train ride to the spa town of Montecatini. Besides the fame of its thermal waters, the town is also known as a local shopping mecca. On the Sunday of our visit, many expensive cars were in view along with well-dressed Italians enjoying food, drink and sunshine. Undeterred, we headed for our ultimate destination, Montecatini Alto, the old hilltop town above the more popular spa town. While reachable by car, a funicular makes it easily accessible for pedestrians. We passed only one spa building en route to the station and it was, apparently, closed on Sunday:
From the funicular station there is a fine view looking upward toward the old town. The tracks start out gently enough but the pitch soon increases dramatically:
Later, in our explorations, we visited the church at the far left called San Pietro’s.
Wandering around Montecatini Alto led to some fine views. This one, in particular, was toward a nearby hilltop town with several prominent towers. We still don’t know its name as it does not appear in any tourist literature we have:
At the San Pietro church, we expected the interior to match the plain and rough exterior:
However, it was surprisingly ornate:
What fascinated us most were the many potted plants on the altar, a feature we later saw in other churches. Our guess is that the plants, which resemble alfalfa sprouts, are a reminder or celebration of spring.
After all our exertions up and down numerous streets, our reward awaited us at this outdoor restaurant in the heart of the old town:
It was a fitting and delicious way to conclude our first outing from Lucca.
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