Private Bike Tour through Tuscany Countryside from Lucca

Down the road that runs along the Serchio just outside the historic center of Lucca, we enter the beautiful river park, green lung of the city with its plant and animal species, most recently at the center of a massive intervention to enhance not only the natural environment, but also to make it a center of recreation, sport and leisure.

Continuing towards the sea, immersed in the soft countryside of Lucca, which alternates green and woodlands of birch and beech, we enter the village of Nozzano Castello, famous for its wonderful medieval castle that stands at the crown of a rocky hill, where oldest part of the village is preserved. The castle, built on several occasions during 1200, was one of the most provided and famous outposts built to defend the territory of Lucca from the Pisan assaults.

Last bastion before the coastal zone, Mount Balbano, that we soon reach, shows the rapid change of vegetation, from dense and lush on the Lucca side, in a diverse Mediterranean and wild beauty on the opposite side thanks to the climate, which here is particularly mild throughout the year. Its pass, 149 meters above sea level, offers breathtaking views over Lake Massaciuccoli and the coast; to the south, on clear days, you can even see Pisa and its leaning tower.

Going down the bends, gently move toward the lake, a protected area of Migliarino-St-Rossore Massaciuccoli Naural Park. Oasis of LIPU (Italian Bird Protection League) with over two hundred and fifty registered and protected species, the lake area can be walked along through long walks on stilts over the water and is ideal for birdwatching. Even Giacomo Puccini chose for the hunting of ducks and coots of which he was a big fan. Massaciuccoli, however, is not only a natural beauty. In an extraordinary and unique mix, here are also the remains of what is commonly known as "Roman Massaciuccoli” consisting of the villa of the Roman Family of Venulei with the baths, which ruins are still visible on the hill sloping towards the lake, of the "mansio", connected to it, today a museum within a structure that is the result of a fascinating blend of contemporary architecture and archeology, and of adjoining tunneling, where it is possible, at certain times, to follow live the excavation.

Left the village and its Roman glory, we reach Vecchiano in Pisan territory, not before having noticed the unusual landscape of the "scars" left by the many limestone caves, including the most famous of Monte Niquila to time at the center of a heated dispute for having been chosen as the location of a dunp that was never built, now completely re-evaluated and affected by policies to make it a spa and wellness center thanks also to the water that flows from the rock which is rich in therapeutic properties. In Vecchiano we pass through the locality "Waterworks": here in fact are three aqueducts that provide water supply to Pisa and Livorno.

At Cerasomma now close to our goal, we are back in Lucca area, west of the city, immersed in the relaxing countryside that leads us to the village of Gattaiola. Here, built of white limestone, stands the small church dedicated to St. Andrea that keeps inside a Flemish crucifix, a tabernacle by Civitali and a XVI century painting.