Lucca Secrets - Mini Mediaeval Windows

No one can ever doubt Lucca’s architecture beauty. Over the years I have never got bored of just wondering around and looking. Some of the houses have been restored to let slip their history. Some facades are half plastered to reveal the beautiful medieval brickwork and arches. However one architectural feature has always left me perplexed: just below my office window there is a small round hole with a stone surround. On the palazzo opposite they are square with a grill. But what purpose did they serve, rubbish shots maybe? The key, I discovered from Louis, my great friend and ally in life, from the bistro in the Piazza. The same question had been driving him mad as well, so he finally cornered a guide and asked. The answer touched my heart.

These were small windows for children to observe what was going on in the piazza. Now I know that the Italian love of children is truly genetic.