Alessandro Lucarelli started his professional career at Piacenza, whose youth sides he also represented. In 1997, he was sent out on loan to Leffe in order to gain first team experience, making 29 league appearances with the side in 1997–98 Serie C2. Leffe narrowly avoided relegation in a relegation play-out. He became a more prominent member of the first team upon his return to Piacenza, where he spent four seasons as a regular. Playing for the first time in Serie A, Lucarelli avoided relegation with Piacenza in 1998–1999 but went down the following year after finishing bottom of the league. Piacenza and Lucarelli secured an immediate return to the top division the next year with a second-place finish in Serie B. In 2001–02, Piacenza finished 12th and this proved to be Lucarelli's final season with the club after 100 appearances in all competitions.