Lucca and the Villa Reale di Marlia

Four intact kilometers of 16th–17th‑century walls encircle Lucca, a rare Italian city you can walk atop end to end. The oval of Piazza dell’Anfiteatro still follows the Roman footprint, Guinigi Tower has carried seven ilex oaks since the 1300s, and Puccini’s shadow lingers by San Michele in Foro. Just 9 km north, Villa Reale di Marlia speaks to Elisa Bonaparte’s ambitions, with an outdoor green theater and Italianate gardens later reshaped in the 1800s.

Collected at your Pisa hotel, you travel in a Mercedes with a dedicated driver who adapts the day around your pace: rampart views first, an espresso on Via Fillungo, and a lunch stop for tordelli while parking and timing are handled for you. With a private chauffeur in Tuscany, distances fade into the background; then it’s on to Marlia for the gardens and Empire‑style salons, the vehicle on standby, luggage cool, and easy detours to an olive mill or a serious gelato spot.