Ciao, Lucca!
Allora!!!!!!! About time Lucca got some props! It's Fiesole this and Fiesole that (scusi!), but Lucca! Course I'm biased, since half my cousins live there. But Tuscany is one of the most beautiful places on earth, not only for its landscapes but also for its architecture, including clock towers like this - typical of the the region, which find their echo in North African muezzin towers. Mark Bittman has a nice take on Lucca, but I really disagree with his stance that the food is boring. The colomba di pasqua is to die for and the soups and the polenta dishes, among other things... Check out the Roman coloseo turned into apartments when you go and get a driving lesson from my cousin.
Also, take a look at photography by another, true Toscano, my friend Simon Loli of nostro bel paese.
