We’ve found you three great festivals to enjoy the spirit of Lucca in Spring! The Saint Zita Festival fills Lucca with flowers, Lucca Music Festival brings classical music to the streets. Meanwhile ‘Rievocando Lucca’ brings the history of the town to life.
Lucca has many passions, and music is just one of them. From opera maestro Puccini who was born here to today’s many music festivals organised in the town. Flowers are also part of Lucca’s fibre, think of the beloved Saint Zita (who performed a miracle involving flowers!) that has a flower festival dedicated to her, or the historic camellias beloved in this part of the world. And of course history in all its aspects, relived with creativity during a festival that has become a regular part of the calendar every year in May.
8 UNIQUE THINGS TO DO IN LUCCA
Saint Zita Festival – When the city fills up with flowers, 23rd-27th April 2026
Every year, at the end of April, the Saint Zita Fair animates Lucca with thousands of flowers stalls. Countless plants and flowers colour the streets around Piazza San Frediano and Piazza Anfiteatro. All in memory of Saint Zita, the charitable maid who dedicated herself to feeding the poor.
Lucca’s charming streets and squares become even more picturesque thanks to the flower displays, and many flower stalls sell hundreds of varieties of plants. You also find traditional sweets and a lovely atmosphere.
WHEN? This year the Saint Zita Festival is on from 23rd to 27th April 2026.
What is the link between Saint Zita and the flowers? It all goes back to a miracle performed by the humble maid Zita, who lived in Lucca in the 13th century. While she was working for a wealthy family, she was also devoted to helping the poor. One day she took some leftover bread to feed the homeless but as she was leaving the house, her employee discovered that she was hiding something in her apron. “It’s roses and flowers” she said, hoping not to be stopped. And when she opened the apron, there there were, the bread had turned to flowers. Based on this and other miracles she was later canonised and made a saint.
Saint Zita was made a saint in the Catholic Church. If you’d like to pay homage to her, in San Frediano Church rests her mummified body.
If you love flowers, check out the Fair ‘Antiche Camelie della Lucchesia’, in Capannori (a few kilometres from Lucca). It’s usually on during the weekends in March – and celebrates the historic camelias that are one of the symbols of Lucca. When camelia plants arrived from Japan at the end of the 18th century, many found their home in the historic gardens of the Villas outside Lucca. The new trend suited the climate of this territory, and camellias became the thing to have, especially after Elisa (the sister of Napoleon) brought them to Villa Reale di Marlia where they still can be admired today!
Classical Music Festival in Lucca – from 29th April to 4rd May 2026
Lucca Classica Music Festival has become a regular fixture of Spring. Since 2015, this festival aims at bringing classic music to the streets of the city, making it an immersive experience. From morning to late evening the historic centre is filled with music: performances in the squares, churches, theatres. They want to involve everyone, because music is cultural heritage that belongs to everyone!
Lucca Relieves its History – ‘Rievocando Lucca’, on May 19th-24th 2026
‘Lucca Historiae Fest’ aims to relive the town’s history by using the ramparts of its walls as a time machine. Multi-era historical reconstruction and multimedia tools to travel through two thousand years of Lucca’s history. From prehistoric time to 19th century events that defined the history of Lucca – the weapons, wars, knights and Napoleonic attack – the festival creates scenes, with creativity we can learn and relive history today.
Did you know? Lucca was the only city-state in Tuscany to keep her independence from Florence and the Medici until the end of 1700, when the Napoleonic troups arrived and finally managed to break her defence.
See the full program of the festival on the official site.
READ ALSO:
* Festivals in Tuscany Your Kids Will Love
* What to Do at Easter in Florence
* Day Trip from Lucca: Driving Itineray in the Serchio Valley
Author: Sabrina Nesi, founder of Lovefromtuscany.com, passionate about sharing the beauty of Tuscany and Italy with the world.
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