Lucca

Lucca (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlukka]) is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio, in a fertile plain near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Lucca. One thing for which it is famous is its intact Renaissance-era city walls.

History

Ancient and medieval city

Lucca was founded by the Etruscans (there are traces of a pre-existing Ligurian settlement) and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. The rectangular grid of its historical centre preserves the Roman street plan, and the Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the ancient forum. Traces of the amphitheatre can still be seen in the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro.

At the Lucca Conference, in 56 BC, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus reaffirmed their political alliance known as the First Triumvirate.

Frediano, an Irish monk, was bishop of Lucca in the early 6th century. At one point, Lucca was plundered by Odoacer, the first Germanic King of Italy. Lucca was an important city and fortress even in the 6th century, when Narses besieged it for several months in 553. Under the Lombards, it was the seat of a duke who minted his own coins. The Holy Face of Lucca (or Volto Santo), a major relic supposedly carved by Nicodemus, arrived in 742. During the 8th - 10th centuries Lucca was a center of Jewish life, the Jewish community being led by the Kalonymos family (which at some point during this time migrated to Germany to become a major component of proto-Ashkenazic Jewry). Lucca became prosperous through the silk trade that began in the 11th century, and came to rival the silks of Byzantium. During the 10–11th centuries Lucca was the capital of the feudal margraviate of Tuscany, more or less independent but owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Coupe de France

The Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France (French pronunciation: ​[kup də fʁɑ̃s], French Cup), is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation. The cup competition is named after Charles Simon, a French sportsman who died while serving in World War I, and is open to all amateur and professional football clubs in France, including clubs based in the overseas departments and territories. The final is played at the Stade de France and the winner of the Coupe de France qualifies for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. The current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who defeated AJ Auxerre 1–0 in the final of the 2014–15 competition.

The Coupe de France was first held in 1917–18 and, during the 2007–08 season, celebrated its 90th anniversary. Combined with random draws and one-off matches (no replays), the Coupe de France can be difficult for the bigger clubs to win. The competition is usually beneficial to the amateur clubs as it forces higher-ranked clubs, usually professional clubs, to play as the away team when drawn against lower-league opposition if they are competing two levels below them. However, despite the advantages, only one amateur club has actually reached the final since professionalism was introduced in French football in 1932: Calais RUFC in 2000. Both clubs who have won the competition and were not playing in Ligue 1 were professional, Le Havre in 1959 and Guingamp in 2009. The Coupe de France is managed and run by the Coupe de France Commission, whose president is former French international Willy Sagnol.