city, central Italy, capital of Lucca Province, in Tuscany Region. The city is a marketing center for olive oil, vegetables, and wine. Industries include the manufacture of tobacco products, food products, textiles, paper, and furniture. Lucca, encircled by a 16th-century wall, contains several churches which are basilican or Romanesque in structure, with Gothic facades. Notable are the Cathedral of San Martino (6th cent., rebuilt in the 1060s, completed 13th–14th cent.); the church of San Frediano (8th cent., rebuilt 1112–47); and San Michele in Foro (begun 1143). Many palaces in the city are from the 16th century, including the former grand ducal palace, housing the Museo e Pinacoteca Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi since 1868. The city’s public library was founded in the 17th century. A renowned center of music, Lucca was the home of the Italian composers Luigi Boccherini and Giacomo Puccini.

Settled by Ligurians and later a Roman town (180 bc), Lucca became the capital of a Lombard duchy (6th cent.) and a free commune (12th cent.). It was a republic from 1369 until conquered (1799) by the French. From 1805 to 1814 Lucca was a principality in the empire of Napoleon I. A part of the duchy of Parma (1817), Lucca was rejoined with Tuscany in 1847, and was united to the kingdom of Italy in 1860. Pop. (1991) 86,437.