Guinigi Tower, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

The Guinigi Tower was built by the Guinigi family, wealthy merchants back in the 1300's who built their home/villa/mansion and the attached tower. And yes, those are oak trees planted and growing on the top of the brick structure - specifically Holm Oak, generally known as holly oak.  Today, the city of Lucca owns and manages the property as a museum/tourist attraction. I took advantage of a crystal clear morning to climb to the top for the view.

The climb up is on a well supported staircase........



....with an occasional enticing view through small window-sized openings........





......but once you reach the top.......

....the view just goes on forever.  The next three images are panoramas, and the following five images are conventional more detailed views of the same areas. (Click on the panoramas to view in full width).

Westward view.

Southwestward view.

Southerly view.

A beautiful place, this city of Lucca. Last year, they celebrated their 500th year anniversary of the beginning of construction of the current surrounding wall. I think it should easily stand for another 500. You can get a hint of where the wall is located in the above photographs by the green lines of trees in the middle distance.