chiesa e battistero di san giovanni e santa reparata

As it is right next door to the Cathedral, it might be easy to miss, but you can get (a cheaper) joint entry. It is really a large empty building, but as other reviewers have said, it is the excavations under the church that make it so worthwhile. Scattered around the trenches are laminated sheets in a variety of languages (including English) - pick one up and read what your looking at, fascinating. If your feeling really fit, do not forget to climb the bell tower. We were not, so we did not !

The Church is beautiful and so very interesting. The excavations under the Church are fascinating as well. Depends of what you are looking for when you go into a Church. We love to sit and admire the interior and its beauty of an Italian Church, so we thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I agree with an earlier review : if you are able to see just one thing in Lucca, then make it this church. The church itself is interesting enough, but it is what has been excavated under the church that is truly fascinating. The excavations have revealed several layers of various constructions going back over two thousand years, & through a number of different civilisations. Climb the bell tower for an unrivalled view of Lucca.

Chiesa e Battistero di San Giovanni e Santa Reparata is not worth € 4,- when you can only see the underground excavations. The outside is far more interesting.

The excavations seem to extend all the way under the floor of the church and go back to roman and 1st century Christian times. Amazing to see a section of roman floor in such good conditions and the subsequent alterations and buildings.

We enjoyed visiting this Museum, and the excavations in the basement area were quite interesting. My husband climbed the tower and took wonderful photos showing Lucca from above.

Quite plain inside and yet lovely. Home of the Puccini evenings and the excellent acoustics carry the voices so well

I loved the way the development of the site was revealed under the 12th century church. Roman Baths, roads and a 4th Century church hidden in the crypt. The climb up the tower was worthwhile too. A must if you visit the cathedral and the cathedral museum.

Pay the extra for the hand held tour guide because this church has so much history attached to it. It is a beautiful sight looking back from the altar at the collection of different columns that lead to the front door. Downstairs is an archaeological site that reveals evidence of Roman baths as well as Christian churches from different periods.Don't forget to come back at night and attend a concert of opera by Puccini, Verdi or both. It's a beautiful venue and a concert is held here every night of the year.

The outside is plain but inside has an archaeological dig where visitors can investigate the Roman remains under the church. A climb of about 110 steps takes you to the top of the bell tower and magnificent views over Lucca.

If you only have time to visit one thing in Lucca then make it this one. Get the combined ticket to all three buildings. The excavations below the church are extensive. Pretty much the whole floor of the church must be resting on metal girders! Make sure you go down and explore as what you can see from above is just a small fraction of the whole. The tower is quite a climb but worthwhile for the views. Amazingly even from the top you don't feel that much higher than the rooftops as the general height of buildings in Lucca seems to be four storeys. We needed to sit down for a while on the steps of the next church before continuing on.

Not just 'another church' in Lucca, although there are some restored frescoes, a small stained glass window, and some lovely very old stone columns in the main church. The altar is in fact a hole into which you can descend (via stairs) to view multiple layers of excavation. Beneath you will see layers of the remains of medieval and paleo-Christian churches and, at the bottom, Roman mosaic tiles and ruins of kilns, baths, and other artifacts. It is a bit of a jumble and not so easy to tease apart, but still very interesting. There is even "graffiti", really wall drawings/carvings, supposedly depicting the martyrdom of Santa Reparata.(In truth you can just about make out the fish and a few figures.) The view of the church's unusual dome, from the inside, is fascinating - 8 sides, all brick. There is also a staircase up to the bell tower, although the view at the top is unfortunately obstructed by coarse screening. Beware that the top flight of stairs is more like a ladder. The audio guide leaves a lot to be desired, but it's still worth having.

We weren't planning on visiting this church (honestly, there are so many to visit, it can get a little bit too much, especially if you are travelling with children), but our travel guide, Florence & Tuscany with kids, recommended it, so we decided to make a quick visit.We weren't disappointed! Even though we didn't book a ticket for the concerts (our kids weren't up for that) we did enjoy touring the ancient bottom part of the church, filled with roman artifacts and mosaics. It was a perfect way to learn about the history of Lucca.

We were given comlimentary tickets for this site with tickets we bought for the Puccini event in the church. We saved the tickets for a rainy day later in the week thinking it would be just a useful escape. We were however very pleasantly surprised by the exhibits which included pre roman, roman and Middle Ages. This is a live archaeological dig and has an active history feel. The exposed mosaics on what was the earlier church of St Reparata were fascinating as was the Roman bathing area. We spent a good hour wandering around and reading the posters which are in English as well as Italian & quite informative. We also climbed the tower via the metal stairs to be presented with panoramic views of Lucca and the hills. The last bit of the climb is quite narrow & might be a problem if busy but it wasn't when we visited. A very worthwhile diversion if you are interested in history and require shelter from the rain or heat.

This single structure houses numerous attractions, and centuries, on display. The reason the one church has 2 names is because the Church of San Giovanni was constructed over the Church of Santa Reparata. Even more remarkable is that beneath that is an excavation of a Roman spa. There is a path thru the excavation that provides a fascinating sample of Roman life. Be sure to purchase the handheld device with pre-recorded guide information. Each level is worth a few dozen photos. There is also a tower to climb for an excellent view of Lucca. The building is also the home for the first ongoing festival dedicated to Giacomo Puccini and his music in Lucca, his native city. Opera concerts, both grand and intimate, are performed in the main sanctuary level on a very regular basis.