"Walk the town-maybe take in a spa" Bagni di Lucca Things to Do Tip by BruceDunning

This was probably a good place to take a massage within the last 40 years ago. Now it seems old-outdated and not much effort put into keeping up the homes along the avenue. Many were closed up and looked vacant quite a while. In the center of town is a bank, small shops and eateries, but that is all. The casino that was closed in 1853 is there for viewing. With Lucca renovating in the 1300's, the spa concept was good again and continued for a long time. In Napoleon era the town was again getting fame, visitors to the spa and the newly built casino. Napoleon's staff and his sister used this as a summer residence and called it the Italian Switzerland, and Europeans flocked to the luxury offered. Then in 1814, Duke Leopold Lorena took control and in 1853 closed the casino, and the town languished. It since has tried to make an industry in paper and chalk trades, but from statistics I noted only about 35% of the population works. Over the years many known artists and poets used this as a refuge and to relax.
I dropped the camcorder-yes it broke- and the rest of the pics are dead

Website: http://toscana.indettaglio.it/eng/comuni/lu/bagnidilucca/bagnidilucca.html