Tales, Flats and Villas from Lucca.: Apr 17, 2014

My apologies for the absence in the last couple of weeks from this blog, the season is starting and it is good to see you coming in apartments and villas here, but there's a lot of maintenance works involved in the backstage after the winter.

Many of you will be spending Easter in Lucca and I thought that it could be nice and useful to know what's happening in town and around.

First of all, being mainly a religious feast, let's start with the celebrations:

Holy (Maundy) Thursday April, 17th is the day that Christ celebrated the Last Supper with the Apostles. The Mass will be held at the Cathedral (San Martino) at 6.30pm and it will include the washing of the feet ceremony. The pray will continue till 11pm in the Santissimo Sacramento chapel. There will be another Mass in San Michele's church at 9pm.
Good Friday April, 18th the Stations of the Cross (Way of the Cross, we call it in latin Via Crucis) will start at 8.45 pm from San Salvatore Square and it will go through Via Fillungo to reach San Frediano's church.
Easter Eve, Saturday April 19th Holy Mass at 9.30 pm at the Saint Martin's Cathedral.
Easter Sunday, April 20th Holy Mass at 10.30 am at the Saint Martin's Cathedral held by the Archbishop.
Easter Monday, April 21th Holy Mass at 11 am Saint Michele's church.

Please pay attention that in these churches opening hours can change, you may find them closed or just opened for confessions, so they won't allow visitors inside.

If you have a car and feel brave to drive some mountain roads, on Thursday night, go to Castiglione di Garfagnana, for The Crocioni Procession. That can be a real and strong experience! After the mass, people will follow in a procession a man dressed as Jesus Christ, he will have chains at his bare feet and a heavy cross to bear on his shoulder. Nobody knows the identity of the man, apart from the priest: a long white hood will cover his head. Before the mass he will be hidden in a huge wardrobe. He will come out for the procession representing the biblical walk with the three falls, the roman soldiers and the apostles. The torch light, the drum rolls, the chains noise will make it very real and suggestive even because the village is a perfect medieval hamlet. At the end the man will go back inside the wardrobe, two soldiers will check and only later when everybody will be gone he will come out. You may wonder who wants to do such a thing, usually is a local person who makes a vow or he does it as a proof of regret.

On Easter Eve and Sunday, we have the tradition to bring the eggs (chocolate or boiled) and the pasimata to be blessed by the priest. This is what you will find on the altar.

Pasimata is a typical sweet bread of Lucca, Garfagnana and Versilia that usually is prepared only for Easter, ask for it at the bakeries and pastries shop in town. It can be with raisin, almonds or candied fruit. The pastry smells of anise seeds and it is soft and tasty. It has a very long rising time. It can have the shape of a loaf of bread or it can be as thick as a panettone. Of course, you will have to enjoy it with a glass of Vinsanto (Holy wine) and dip it in!

Most of the restaurants will be opened on Easter Sunday at lunch and dinner.

At lunch time, maybe it will be better to book a table, we do not all celebrate at home, so they might be busy. Some of them will do a special menu (lamb and kid/goat are the main traditional courses) they will show it outside on a notice board some days before, go and have a look if you are interested.

If you plan to cook at your fantastic holiday home, then go shopping as soon as you can! Groceries, supermarkets and bakeries will be shut on Sunday and most of them even on Monday.

During the weekend (Sat&Sun) you can spend some hours in one of the best Tuscan antiques market! It is quite big, the stalls will be all around in Giglio's square, Cathedral & San Giovanni's square, San Giusto's square, Via del Gallo and Bernardini's square from 9am till 6pm . Old books, prints, medals, stamps, vintage clothes and accessories, furniture, cutlery, china and unusual tools could be a unique souvenir from Lucca and an experience you should not miss! I love it!

Instead, this year from 18th till 21st in Corso Garibaldi (from 9am till 9pm) there will be a new market dedicated to Sardinia products: food, wine and artisan. I do not know exactly what you can find as it is the first time, but I am sure you will find delicatessen as cold cuts, great pecorino cheese, Mirto a typical liqueur, the carasau a very thin and crispy bread, Cannonau wine, sweets as seadas and biscuits. So if you forget to buy something at the grocery store, here's the solution!

If you have not visited yet the national Museums: Palazzo Mansi e Villa Guinigi will be opened in the afternoon (1.30 till 7.30pm) on Sunday and Monday. The first one is a beautiful example of a 16th century lucchese noble residence with frescoes and an amazing wedding bedroom, plus there's a painting gallery, too. Now the masterpiece is in Florence part of the Portormo and Rosso Fiorentino exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi.

The other museum is related to the art of the city and quite big: archeology, paintings and scuplture from Medieval till 18th century. Then, still here the exhibition The Furnace of Porta San Donato. The work of a potter in the 17th century in Lucca opened just recently. (free entrance)

For music lovers, on Sunday at 9.15 pm at the San Giuseppe Oratory (next to the Cathedral) the second concert of the Easter and Pentecost (Whitsunday) Festival will take place. Beatrice Venezi at the piano will accompany the sopranos Fabiola Formiga and Melissa di Biasio. The program is dedicated to Tuscan opera composers: Puccini of course and then Catalani, Luporini and Mascagni, as well.
For info and bookings: tickets can be purchased at the San Giovanni's Church (10-6pm, every day) or you can write an email to info@musick.it. Price 20€ first sector; 15€ second sector.

The Italian tradition expects that on Easter Monday, Pasquetta, you have to do a picnic, a merendella/merendina at the beach in Viareggio, on the mountains in Garfagnana or in the lucchese countryside. If it is a sunny day there will be a lot of people everywhere! So you if would like to respect the tradition, a barbecue picnic can be arranged for you in a local vineyard, please get in contact with Paola by Friday.

At last I would like to mention the Azalea Festival in Borgo a Mozzano, (Sun&Mon), you can reach the village by train from Lucca, check first the times as it is public holiday or better if you have a car it is less than 30 mins drive. Do not miss the Devil's bridge!