This post continues our walk around Lucca, where we returned to for two nights less than a year later in 2023.

Piazza dell' Anfiteatro (photos 6-8) is a public square in the northeast quadrant of the walled center of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy. The ring of buildings surrounding the square follows the elliptical shape of the former second century Roman amphitheater of Lucca. The square can be reached through four gateways located at the four vertices of the ellipse. A cross is carved into the central tile of the square with the arms pointing to the four gateways of the square. The base of the former amphitheater (dating back to the 1st or 2nd century BC) is now some 3 meters below the ground surface.

At its peak about 18 rows of amphitheater seats held some 10,000 spectators. Now at its place is an urban square (piazza) surrounded by private residences built using the remaining structures of the Amphitheatre, which are occupied by several outdoor cafes. This piazza was created in 1830 by the architect Lorenzo Nottolin by razing some of the buildings inside the oval. It was originally refurbished to be a marketplace.

We had some time on our own and we spent part of it at the Piazza dell' Anfiteatro. It was a warm day, so we stopped for something cold to drink and had our first limoncello spritz, which immediately became one of our favorite drinks.

Palazzo Pfanner, last photo, from Wikipedia:
Palazzo Pfanner is a palace and a garden in Lucca, Italy, now converted into a museum of art and artifacts. Originally known as the Palazzo Controni,[1] the building dates to 1667, and is notable mainly for its fine garden, attributed to Filippo Juvarra, and an interesting external stairway with loggia. Its principal salon contains frescoes by Scorsini and De Santi (early to mid 18th century), as well as a collection of surgical instruments gathered by Dr. Pietro Pfanner (1864–1935).

My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-803013-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html