Croce di Brancoli

On a spur above the Serchio valley, the Brancoli Cross marks the site of a signal tower built in 1594. The 18.4-metre cross was inaugurated on 23 August 1958 and now stands above the Brancoleria, with views across the Lucca plain, the Apuan Alps and the surrounding valleys.

Why it matters

The summit links the area’s communications history with its wartime memory. The former Brancoli Tower was part of the “Occhio di Lucca,” a system of signal towers used to relay alerts across the Republic of Lucca. During the Second World War, retreating German troops destroyed the tower, fearing it could serve as a landmark for the Allied advance. The cross later gave the site a new civic and devotional meaning.

What to notice

The cross stands on the former tower site, on a ridge overlooking the Serchio valley and Lucca plain. The view extends toward the Apuan Alps, the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea, with the islands of Capraia and Gorgona visible in clear conditions.

Context and history

The 1594 tower was visible from the Torre del Palazzo in Lucca’s historic centre and formed part of the Republic’s network for communicating alerts and calling local militias when needed. Its destruction during the Second World War ended that military role. In 1958, the community inaugurated the iron cross that now marks the summit. The Brancoli Cross is also the highest point on the Romanesque parish-church itinerary through the Brancoleria, a hilly district north of Lucca.