Category: About Tuscany

Italian treasures

Ristorante Antico Caffè delle Mura

Forgotten treasures of Lucca
Some Grapevine readers may have seen the recent exhibition in Lucca, “Lucca abbandonata, Lucca ritrovata” feauturing stunning black and white photographs of over 60 significant buildings in and around Lucca which have fallen into disuse and are lying empty.
Now the exhibition organisers wanted to draw attention to the wealth of history contained in these buildings and their  potential to play a role in the life of the city again.
Some of the buildings are well-known the Mercato del Carmine, the ex Manifattura Tabacchi, most less so. A few have already been restored the churches of the Suffragio and San Girolamo, both now used for concerts, the former Banca d’Italia in Via Mordini, now converted into apartments, and the Villa Niemack, as featured in our March issue. In other cases restoration in under way the Caffè delle Mura, for example. But for the most part these building lie wating for a new life, many in a serious state of deterioration.
The catalogue will be of interest to anyone who loves Lucca and its buildings, or who has ever wondered about the history of a particular abandoned building. 250 pages in a manageable paperback, crammed with fashinating photographs and a short history in Italian of each building. Some of the photographs can also be seen on www.flickr.com/luccabbandonata.
The promoters of the exhibition and the catalogue, CasaPound Italia and Associazione Culturale epsilon are to be congratuled on drawing this heritage to the attention of a wider audience, as indeed is the city of Lucca for its support. let’s hope their initiative succeeds in saving some of these treasures.
The catalogue is on sale at Lorenzini newsagents, Via Fillungo; Il Collezionista bookshop, Piazza San Giusto.

Things do to in Tuscany

Villa Minutoli

Villa Minutoli at Massaciuccoli
The building, which was perhaps the centre of the original building, belonged to the Spada family, but at the beginning of the 19th century, was inherited with all the surrounding properties, by count Carlo Minutoli, who increased them considerably thanks to the cultivation of rice. The immense farm was divided up subsequently; the part in the hills was divided into lots and were bought by italians and people from abroad. During the second half of the 1700s, the villa housed the first archaeological finds from the excavations of the baths.

Tuscan towns

Miglianello

Miglianello
Miglianello is a little village  immersed in the terraces of olive groves that cover the entire hillside.
The particular layout of the buildingis due to the fact that originally it was an Olivetan Monastery.
In the 18th century, the building was bought by the Papanti family. The complex has maintained the ancient characteristics of the original building; all that is left of the monastery is the olive mill and storerooms.
Inside there is a hall and two rooms with walls papered with prints of a wide variety of bird species: a “History of birds” of 1768 dedicated to grand duke Pietro Leopoldo, and of great interest to natural sciences scholars. Beside the villa there is a gothic-style church which may have been private chapel, built during the last century.

Driving tours of Tuscany

La Specola

La Specola
The construction of La Specola, of which there are still numerous plans, was begun by the architect, Lorenzo Nottolini, in 1819 at the request of Maria Luisa of Bourbon who wished to make the park of Villa di Marlia, below into an astronomy observatory dedicated to Urania, but the work was never completed.
The hillside chosen for its construction was and ideal point for observing the sky, and its splendid panoramic position above the plain was free from surrounding buildings and gave 360° view of the horizon.

Events in Tuscany

Azalea flower

Flower power
Whatever your view of Springtime, there is no doubting that April is the month when all Lucchesia returns to bloom.
From 17-19 April, the place to be is at Borgo a Mozzano in the Serchio Valley, where the Azalea Festival will be in full swing a wonderful gardeners’ market, with plants, seeds, cut flowers, gardening tools on display, which takes over the whole town. It is over fifty years since locals realised how perfect their climate is for azaleas, enough humidity, almost chalk-free water, not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. Since then, this fair has become a major event in the Italian gardening calendar.
In Lucca, itself, on the following week from 23 to 27 April, the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro will once again be filled with the stalls of local nurseries and flower sellers for the annual Flower Market in memory of Santa Zita.
Look out also for the display in the Piazza in front of the church of San Frediano (which of course houses Santa Zita’s mortal remains).
perfect timing for getting your garden, terrace, patio or window-box blooming with colour again. Look out for amateur gardeners staggering through the streets laden with plants.