The town of Capannori is in the province of Lucca and the numerous villas of its neighbourhoods, such as the XVII-century Villa Cenami Mansi, the 1571 royal Villa of Marlia and the Villa of Torrigiani, characterize it.

Capannori has very ancient origins that probably date to the arrival in Tuscany of the Lombards.
It was first mentioned in a document of the year 745, when a monk declared he had been living in a place called "Capannole" where he built a chapel and a hoe home for the people in need dedicated to San Quirico. A very big rural area, characterized by the presence of groups of country houses and by the absence of a real municipal seat, surrounds Capannori.
This small town has always been under the control of Lucca and it participated to its different historical events. The XIV-century historian Giovanni Sercambi mentioned some of the numerous castles on the hills of Capannori in his "Croniche".
These strongholds supposedly were built by the inhabitants of Lucca to defend themselves from the attacks by the Pisans during the period of bloody fights between the two cities.
The parish of Compito, the fortresses of Sant' Andrea, the fortress of San Giusto, of Vorno and of Guamo, and the Castle of Montecarlo are still visible. Others instead were destroyed in 1313 by the Pisan leader Uguccione della Faggiola.
In 1637, Capannori became the base of the commissioner's office of the "Sei Miglia", that is to say a territorial unity created by Lucca including Massarosa, Pescaglia and Borgo a Mozzano. The charge of commissioner was abolished in 1802 and the administration of justice in the Sei Miglia became one of Lucca's duties.
Even if Capannori is one of the biggest rural centres in Tuscany, a deep process of industrialization has been interesting it during the last years. Many businesses operate in several sectors, such as paper, footwear and food production.
There are also textile, equipment and electro mechanics industries. Yet, this town remains a great producer of oil, cereals, wine and fruit.