Discover Capannori: Villas, Trails and Tuscan Landscapes

Capannori combines historic culture, distinctive gardens and landscapes with a variety of opportunities for hikers and cyclists. If you are planning a trip to the plain of Lucca, you will find both important traces of the past and paths through forests, hills and areas with their own regional character.

Villas and Historical Heritage

The Museo Athena is the municipal museum of the Municipality of Capannori. It is housed in a three-storey 17th-century palace and includes an archaeological and an ethnographic section. The approximately 150 large and small villas that can be visited in the Capannori area provide a broader impression of the history of the region. Wealthy merchants from Lucca built them between the 15th and 19th centuries; their activities were in trade and banking.

The Pieve di San Gennaro also reaches far back into history. It was probably founded in the age of San Frediano in the 6th century and preserves an intact Romanesque pulpit from 1162, signed by Maestro Filippo. An approximately 700-metre-long avenue of cypresses leads to Villa Torrigiani, making the approach to this building a clearly recognisable part of the local landscape.

Hiking, Pilgrimage and Cycling

The northern network of hiking trails in the Municipality of Capannori comprises 17 routes through the hilly and mountainous area of the Pizzorne plateau. This is part of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The paths lead through forests and offer panoramic views over the plain of Lucca. This allows the landscape to be experienced not only through individual sights, but also through its elevations, wooded sections and broad vistas.

The Via Francigena offers two variants in Capannori. The northern route leads over the green heights of Pizzorne, while the southern route runs through the landscape of Monte Pisano. Both variants can also be travelled by bicycle. In addition, Le Ville della Lucchesia is a cycling loop starting in Capannori and intended for exploring the beauty of the plain of Lucca. For your planning, you can therefore distinguish between hiking routes, a pilgrimage route with two landscape variants and a cycling route expressly designed as a loop.

Gardens, Nature and Quiet Paths

Bosco del Bottaccio is recognised as a Special Area of Conservation (IT5120101) and as a Ramsar site under the name “ex lago e padule di Bientina”. Another form of botanical diversity is displayed by the Camellietum Compitese garden, which is home to more than 1,000 varieties of camellias. In Borgo delle Camelie, the side roads are closed to traffic and run between houses and small vegetable gardens. The Quercia delle Streghe can be reached via the vicinal road leading down from San Martino in Colle.

Observatory and Regional Cuisine

The Astronomical Observatory of Capannori (OAC) is an observation station on Mount Gallonzora near the village of Vorno. In culinary terms, Capannori is one of the most important areas of the “Strada del Vino e dell’Olio Lucca Montecarlo Versilia”. This tourist and gastronomic route extends across the hills of Lucca, Montecarlo, Versilia and the Serchio Valley.

Other Places in the Municipality

For further exploration, the following places are part of the immediate surrounding area: Camigliano, Gragnano, Matraia, Carraia, Colle Di Compito, Massa Macinaia, Petrognano, Pieve Di Compito, Ruota, San Gennaro, Valgiano, Lappato, San Ginese Di Compito, Vorno, S.Andrea In Caprile, Lammari, Lunata, San Leonardo In Treponzio, Corte Polito and All'erta.

For the higher-level travel overview: Lucca.