“La Mansarda” is a charming little apartment for up to four guests at the top of a sixteenth century house in the centre of Lucca. The climb to the fourth floor is more than worth it: the apartment has marvellous views over the mediæval city and is wonderfully bright, getting sunshine for most of the day. You can even sunbathe by the windows, which look out over the arched marble facade of the church of San Michele.

The apartment has a spacious, elegantly decorated living/dining room with warmly-coloured parquet flooring and chestnut-beamed ceilings. Furniture here, and throughout the apartment, complements the setting and has been carefully chosen for comfort. This room has a sofa bed suitable for two.

The bedroom, at 25m² the same size as the living room, faces south. Well-lit and welcoming, its layout and views make it ideal for daytime use. It has a kingsize wrought iron bed which can be seperated into two singles, and plenty of storage space. A striking feature is the sloping, tiled ceiling with its massive beams of Garfagnana chestnut.

The galley-style kitchen is well equipped with a gas hob, electric oven, fridge-freezer and an ample supply of crockery, cutlery and utensils. This room, like all of the others in the apartment, has excellent views over Lucca. There is also a comfortably sized bathroom with a shower and a washing machine.

The apartment has a CD/cassette/radio system and a small selection of music, books and games. There isn’t a TV or a telephone, but the square outside has a public telephone and Lucca has internet and fax centres. The apartment has central heating — which can be very welcome in the cooler winter months — and air conditioning — a real boon during July and August.

Apartment La Mansarda is available from £400 (Pounds Sterling) per week throughout the year.

Lucca is a charming holiday base in s; a maze of winding, cobbled streets, dotted with churches and squares, and enclosed in unbroken, sixteenth century walls. It manages to combine a lively atmosphere (a mixture of offices, bars, restaurants, shops and homes) with an air of historic grandeur — Cæsar conferred here with Pompey and Crassus in 56AD, and the city was ruled for a short time by Napoleon’s sister, Elisa.

Lucca has excellent transport links, and is within easy travelling distance of many of Tuscany’s attractions. Pisa (leaning tower and airport) and Viareggio (marvellous art nouveau beach establishments) are both within half-an-hour’s drive; and an hour or so will see you in the Cinque Terre, the mountain parks of the Garfagnana, the vineyards of Chianti, or the splendid regional capital, Florence.

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