Overview
The proud holder of an Orange Flag, the prestigious eco tourism award presented by the Italian Touring Club, the little town of Montecarlo lies at the easternmost tip of the Lucca plateau, where the landscape rises gently to form small ridges planted with vineyards and olive groves.
And these vines and grapes are precisely the ones used to make the local gastronomic specialities: PDO Montecarlo wines and CDO Lucca extra-virgin olive oil, both very popular and exported all over the world.
The name 'Montecarlo' has an interesting history. After the Luxembourg nobleman John I of Bohemia helped the people of Lucca fend off the threat from Florence in 1331, the locals decided to establish a settlement on this hill, naming it after John's son, the future Charles IV of Luxembourg.
Charles himself is thought to have ordered the construction of a powerful fortress to defend the town, which gradually developed in the following centuries into the configuration you see today.
Beyond the castle walls, amid the squares and narrow streets of Montecarlo, there are two sights definitely worth seeing: the Church of St Andrew and the theatre, Teatro dei Rassicurati - especially if there's a play or performance scheduled for the day of your visit.
