Bye bye September Lucchese... see you next year!

And even September is going towards the end, you could not be in a better place to welcome the Autumn season, just walking on the walls you will have a great view over the mountains and the turning colours of the leaves, the chilly pure air in the morning and that lukewarm sun during the day...

After your daily trips and explorations, enjoy a glass of wine and some food at the Enoteca Calasto in piazza San Giovanni and listen to some great young Opera Singers on Friday starting at 8.30 pm. 

Markets are on even this weekend:

• the local weekly mixed market in Via dei Bacchettoni on Saturday morning 
• the lovely Arts&Crafts Market in Piazza San Giusto on Sat&Sun will give you the opportunity to meet many artisans and some cute objects great for your presents of this holiday in Lucca
• the last traditional fair market on Sunday all day in Borgo Giannotti district to end the September Lucchese celebrations

Not interested in shopping? 

On Saturday afternoon from 3 till 8pm, twelve artists will open the doors of their studios, ateliers so you can browse the secrets of painting, photography and sculpture. 

Here is the map:

An interesting event is dedicated to Fashion, Cars and Giacomo Puccini: 

a fashion show, a catwalk for the new collection of the local designer Piero Ricci, the models will walk in front of the Maestro's statue (Piazza Cittadella) on Saturday from 5.30 pm

The Giglio Theatre has offered some precious japanese kimono worn for Madame Butterfly, realized by Catherine Voeffray for the anniversary of the opera.  

In case you are interested, the event is free but you need to book in advance your seat at the Puccini Museum ticket office on Friday (9.30-6.30).

On Sunday instead still in the same square, the Lancia Lamboda car will be in exhibition for all day. That is the last car bought by Giacomo Puccini in 1924, it could reach the speed of 125 km/h.

For your Saturday night a couple of ideas: 

- the free jazz concert "Waiting for Lucca Jazz 2014" at Palazzo Ducale at 6pm (Piazza Napoleone), it is even a chance to see the interior, the rooms which usually are closed ;) 

- the National Museums, Palazzo Mansi and Villa Guinigi are doing a late night opening. Free entrance from 7.30 till 11.30 pm


On Sunday afternoon, it will be the Lucchese Crossbow and Archery team to say goodbye to this edition of the September Lucchese on Sunday competing for the First San Michele Trophy. 

The musicians, medieval costumes and flag throwers will depart from Via dei Bacchettoni at 3.pm to parade through the central main street to arrive in Piazza Guidiccioni where the archery competition will start at 3.30pm. 

More September Lucchese coming this weekend...

The monthly Antique market, one of the best in Tuscany is just on your doorstep on Saturday and Sunday: Giglio's square Cathedral's square, San Giusto,  San Giovanni,Via del Battistero, Via Donnino. Get lost with books, prints, medals, painting, statues, clothes and unusual tools...

If you get hungry in Piazza Napoleone there will be 2 markets dedicated to food: Flavours, Bread & Artisan instead, round the corner in Piazza San Michele, do not forget under the loggia the Local Winetasting open from 12 till 8pm everyday: 6€ for 4 glasses of wine.

Moreover on Sunday, you are invited to head outside the walls in Borgo Giannotti district for Saint Matthew traditional fair market. Great fun! 

Something that can satisfy both ladies and gentlemen will be the exhibition Motorbikes and Art (what a couple?!) in front of the Caffè delle Mura on the walls on Saturday. This morning I have seen some beautiful Harley Davidson arriving. 

I have never heard about this festival, maybe it is the first edition but it sounds very interesting: Histrionika Lucca 2014: street artists as jugglers, musicians, clowns, acrobats, puppeteers will meet in the basement of San Colombano bastion, just under the walls on Saturday from 5 till 11 pm. 

If you are looking for something more relaxing there is a concert in San Michele church on Saturday at 5.30 pm:  Symphony  n.2 “Lobgesang” by Felix Mendelsshon (ticket 10€)

Finally more a typical event related to the city is the The Big Crossbow Tournament taking place on the field outside Saint Peter bastion on Sunday from 3pm/3.30 pm: Lucca will face Pisa and Massa Marittima, you know very well who you have to support, right? Anyway, the event will have a parade first with drums, costumes and flag throwers. 

Fingers crossed for the weather and have a great weekend in Lucca!

Which is your favourite season...in music?

I am not talking about the weather, neither about the typical pizza, but about music!

On Saturday starting at 18.30 an itinerant show on the walls will take place: dance, music, circus and theatre. The audience is invited to be part of the event together with the artists on this beautiful natural environment

Spring to begin at the Baluardo di San Colombano: the Frog Ballet company will represent the second part of the Spring Festival by Igor Stravinskij.

Summer the multicultural Magma Cirkus will follow and lead you to the second stop on the Baluardo di San Regolo...  

and it will become Autumn moving towards the Botanical Garden, a place for meditation. Alessandro Bertolucci and his actors group will introduce this season reading some sonnets and poems. 

At the entrance of the Botanical Garden you can listen to the Violin Concert from the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. 

Then the last one: Winter. Still inside the Garden there will be a sort of freezing... the show is based on the Jon Fosse's theatrical text.



Get a gelato or an icy granita and browse at the Antique Market (Cathedral Sqaure, San Giovanni square, San Giusto squarre, Via del Battistero and Via del Gallo, Bernardini square) on Saturday and Sunday (9-19), there are more then 200 vendors... I am sure you will enjoy it! 

The Lucca Summer Festival this year will offer something new: cinema in Piazza Napoleone. On Saturday night you can watch the movie Jimi is all by my side, the biography of Jimi Hendrix enacted by Andre3000. The film will be in English with subtitles. Ticket 8€ or reduced 5€ if you have purchased another ticket of the festival. 

Then I know that it is completely sold out but Sunday night, the amazing Stevie Wonder will perform. It is his only concert in Italy and the city of Lucca is very proud to have him. I bet that any corner of the surrounding streets will be full of people. 

Buon Weekend! 

San Paolino celebrations: the patron Saint of Lucca

Each town tiny village in Italy has its own patron saint and when it comes to celebrate him or her a Holy Mass is not enough, so that's what will happen in Lucca for San Paolino days.

First of all, let me introduce you San Paolino. According to the tradition he was the first bishop of the city, we do not know much about his life. Perhaps he was sent to Lucca by Saint Peter to christianize the population during roman times. He died around the I century a.C.

Anyway, the devotion towards him started later on in the Middle Ages. In 1261 the San Giorgio church was destroyed to build the second ring of walls and some relics came to light.

On July 12, 1664 the miracle happened: lot of people were on the walls to celebrate the saint waiting for the cannon shot. Something went wrong, the cannon was supposed to be loaded with blanks, instead it actually fired a spray of gunfire in the direction of some people that was there to attend the event.
Luckily or miraculously San Paolino's intervention saved them, nobody was injured!

This episode is represented on a painting by Gian Domenico Lombardi that you can admire in San Paolino's church. It is also an interesting document of the walls and of the society of the 18th century.


So Saturday 12, all day long on the San Donato bastion on the walls (west side of the city) there will be artillery shots, historical costumes and games.

At 17.30 in front of the San Paolino church a prize will be given to the best Torta co' Becchi, which is a typical cake, go there maybe you will get a bite and be part of the jury!

At 18.30 the Archbishop will celebrate the Holy Mass and during the cerimony the Mayor will offer the big candle to protect the city of Lucca and its inhabitants.

Tonight at 21.30 do not miss the main event: The Crossbow Tournament in the Cathedral Square (San Martino) to win the Palio, a silk banner.
The competition still follows the 1443 rules, the city is divided in 3 teams according to the districts:
San Paolino
San Martino
San Salvatore

On Sunday be back on the walls on San Frediano platform to attend the artillery, historical parades, dances, flags and more...

Easter in Lucca

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!

Hopefully, I have given you some ideas how to spend these days here in Lucca, so do not forget to tell me if my suggestions were good enough! 

Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! :)

Pontormo&Rosso Fiorentino an extraordinary exhibition in Florence

I think that Palazzo Strozzi is one of the best reality in Florence and generally speaking in Tuscany for exhibitions, art and events. I am always keeping an eye on what's going on and what will be coming next.

Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino "Diverging Path of Mannerism", an incredibly beautiful exhibition opened just a couple of weeks ago and it will last till July, 20th.

This is a list of reasons and suggestions, just my personal advice. Of course, if you will go, let me know your thoughts!

I appreciated very much how the exhibition has been set up, you can really understand the meaning of the title Diverging Paths. Two twins artists till a certain point (they both were trainees of Andrea del Sarto and lived in the same period in Florence), then each one has followed his own way. So at the end I got to think which one did I like the most?

Still nowadays we are astonished by the genius of Michelangelo, Raffaello and Leonardo, but have you ever tried to put yourself in the shoes of an artist that tried to succeed immediately after those three masters? I mean, how can you handle the comparison? Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino took that challenge and the exhibition will show you how they reacted and what they realized. 

A thing I will never forget: the bright, glazed colours of the Visitation by Pontormo, those four massive women occupying almost all the scene in front of you, you perceive that they are mysterious and so gentle at the same time. (look at Saint Elizabeth). And pay attention everytime, how these painters use the colours: sharp, shimmering and vivid. 

It has just been restored, so this image has nothing to do with the original!

I love when you can see also the sketches and drawings! Here, there are two rooms completely dedicated to them. Have a look at the architecture of Rosso Fiorentino, it is just perfect and it makes you understand how talented and careful he was. Instead it seems that Pontormo is just painting himself all the times? 

Paintings can be a document of a period of time. How was to live in Florence in the early 1500? Would you be with or against the Medici family? The artists had to choose which side to stay and the portraits are a great evidence. Anyway, you will be surprised that some of this men are so ordinary, they could be your neighbour! 

Do not miss any expression of the faces: saints, angels that look like animals, monsters or demons but even the sweetest thing in the world! 

Why not a young and curly blond Saint Joseph? 

Seize that moment! Maddalena catching Jesus' feet preventing them to touch the floor, her red mantel blowing up and the awkward position of John. Doesn't it seem just a quick snapshot, does it?  

If you can, book a guided visit, it is so worthy! This kind of exhibitions are huge and you usually end up at in the last rooms quite overwhelmed by all the paintings, papers, books, panels, people around etc..and you do not remember how you started! Instead, the guide will help you a lot to go through the rooms selecting the most important works, you will notice details, you will be given the right tools to appreciate what you are seeing. Another positive point: you have a question, you can ask and hopefully ;) receive an answer! Then after the tour, you can stay longer at the exhibition, go back to see that painting, meditate on it at your own pace. It's the ideal! I enjoyed the exhibition so much with Isabella, that I hope I can go back as soon as possible. 

For further information on Florence, Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino exhibition please get in contact with Paola.