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Tuscany – Undiscovered Lucca, walking tour by night.

“Lucca insolita” is an iniziative by the local tourist board, a guided walking tour will leave Piazza San Michele every Sunday evening throughout august.
Grapevine went along to one of the july events to find out more.
Our route took us from Piazza San Michele, through Piazza Bernardini to Piazza San Martino and finally to the Orto Botanico. But as we entered Palazzo Bernardini, suddenly we were not alone, there stood the architect himself Nicolao Civitali in doublet and hose. More surprises follone “bad girl” Lucrezia Buonvisi in the beautiful setting of the convento f the Servi, and finally the ghost of Lucida Mansi (yes, yet another conveniently deceased husband) ceaselessly roamin the orto Botanico and gazing at her reflection in the little pool.
Lucca is wonderful by night, flaming torches, magical lighting effects, and kind temperature. We guarantee the tour, led by a knowledgeable guide, will reveal secrets of Lucca you won’t have known.
And the partecipation of members of the young Theatre Company of Lucca, responsible for bringing to life characters from the city’s history is a bonus.

The tour can be booked for a cost of euro 7,00 per person, at the tourist office in Piazzale Verdi. Each tour starts around 9.00 pm and lasts two tours, on every sunday evening throughout august. Up to 30 people can be accomodated in each group, with one group conducted in italian and the other in english.

Tuscany – The Great Italian Bread Myth

Come on, admit it, British bread is much better than this Italian stuf…
On a recent trip to the UK, i finally found something that i mis; it’s a nice fresh soft load of Mother’s Pride from the local supermarket.
Processed food, probably filled with all kinds of weird modified, life-threatening chemicals, but doesn’t it taste good? It makes perfect toast, lightly grilled with butter or, better still, a real treat with the centre pulled out and rolled into a ball in the palmo f your hands and then eaten in one mouthful. Delicious. It i salso a really good way of clearing your hands. Admittley, your local branch of Sainsbury’s or Waitrose is more likely to be offering French baguette or Italian ciabatta but at least you can still buy unhealthy bread in Britain if you go to the right places. You can even geti t in restaurants. Well, i say reastaurants but you know what i mean, those places where you can get a real English breakfast anytime of day.
Actually, Eglish breakfast is another thing i miss, but i’ll tray and stay focussed on the bread. On my recent trip, i was reminded that Englsh breakfast even comes served with a dollop of brown sauce, unless you are really quick and stop them, but who is that together at 8 am after the insanely early Pisa_Liverpool Ryanair flight? But then who said there is no remaining traditional colour in the UK? An equivalent activity in one of the villeges of the Garfagnana Valley would have us all trekking up there in search of some local caracter and maybe a glass of grappa as we head for the door. But try buying a grappa anywhere else in the world but Italy and you will run into problems there must be a reason for that? Sorry, i am getting diverted again.
Sure, you can get approximations of soft bread in Italy. Conad makes one which isn’t bad when it is fresh. Giusti’s, the excellent bread shop in Lucca, however, singularly, fails to come up to the mark in the field of unhealty processed bread, in spite of being an otherwise impressive operation.
Just off Piazza San Michele, i have never seen such a popular shop. It can be quicker getting served in the bank than buying your daily bread from them. They have an unusual queuing method where everyone who arrives after you seems to get served first.
But i suppose it at least helps you learn to mix it with the locals; either that or starve. They also have unusual names for the bread, boy Scouts? Militari? What is that all about? Give me a couple of baps every time.
But their bread is admittedly excellent; crusty, fresh, tasty, it even has salt in it. And Giusti’s flour is a prime ingredient, brought in fresh from the wheat fields of the Padana river basin, or somewhere, and lovingly prepared by committed professionals. Just think of a Mulino Bianco advert to get the full effect of the image i am trying to create here. You know the thing, crusty bread with rich green olive oil dripping down your chin as you take a bite, sorrounded by laughing children and old folk gathered around the farmhouse table.
So what is my problem? Why the login for the processed aquidgy stuff which is about as good for you as a dose of Swine Flu?
I’m not saying that Mother’s Pride is a real alternative to fresh Lucchese bread. Even if it does fit in the toaster it still doesn’t absorb the olive oil. I’ve tried; it still doesn’t absorb the olive oil. I’ve tried; it all just drips off leaving the bread completely unmarked.
So iìm not really sure where the login for nasty processed British bread comes from and what it says about my mental health. But it is there so i guess it is just something i need to deal with and try to accept what is probably obvious to all for you: That you cannot really compare production line bread with something produced by an artisan. It is like comparing a Ford Focus with a Ferrari.
But then again, which one would you choose if you actually needed to drive somewhere?
(Mauro Vincent)

Antico Forno Amedeo Giusti:
Via S.Lucia 18/20 – 55100 Lucca
Tel: 0583 496285

e-mail: fornoavapore-giusti@luccavirtuale.it

Tuscany – Colle di Compito Lucca, the “Fiorita”

The “Fiorita” is a decorative carpet created every year to furnish the Sanctuary at Colle di Compito in celebration of Corpus Domini in the Church calendar. This year, i twill remain in place throughout the month of July and until mid August.
As the name suggests, the carpet is mainly made of flowers, but also contains sawdust, seeds and other materials. The tradition of making the carpet had in fact been lost for many years until about eighteen years ago, when some young people in the village decided to revive it.
For their first “Fiorita” tthey used designs from previous festyivals, but as years have passed, their designs have grown more elaborate and original, reflecting much painstaking work.
Each year, it takes over a month to realise the “Fiorita” from the original design stage to finally putting the last flore in place.
The work is carried out by a dedicated team of all ages, from the elderly women who cut the flowers, down to the children who offer their moral support and at the same time themselves learn the techniques which although as simple as the tools used to execute them, require great care and expertise.
Every year, the choice of ever more elaborate designs and the continued search for improvement produces a final result that is even grander than the year before, and which more than repays all the effort involved.
For this reason, the people of Colle di Compito invite everyone who whishes to see “Fiorita” to make their way to the village at this time of the year and ask for the Chiesa dell’Immacolata Concezione at Cima di Colle.
You can ask anyone in the village for directions. As the photographs hint, you will not be disappointed.

From the Via di Tiglio in Lucca, take the Strada Statale SS 439 out of Lucca, signposted towrds Pontedera. You will reach Colle di Compito in around 20 minutes by car, (13 kms from Lucca centre.)

Tuscany – Barga – Sunny side up

Obsiously the name Paolo Nutini is Italian and he is after all, an honorary citizen of Barga but from the opening notes of this album, the singer is unmistakeably scottish.
So, how come a nice italian boy like Paolo Nutini is a native of Paisley is the kind of place which is dimesse by residents of Glasgows its larger, brasher neighbour as “just a wee place outside Glasgow”, but in fact it ha san honourable history of its own, a university, a fine ancient abbey, and at one time Paisly pattern, you remeber? A thread and cloth industry to rival that of Lucca, where indeed the Paisly based Coats thread business still exists as Cucirini Cantoni Coats albeit now in sadly dimished form.
And Paisley has fish and chip shops. Which is the key to why the Nutinis (and indeed the cardini, Valentes, Fuscos, Narduccis, Equis, Castelvecchias et al.) thrived in the west of Scootland. As part of successive waves of emigration from Italy in the early 20th century (and will someone please remind the Lega Nord?) many italians from Garfagnana area come to Scotland to fond work.
perhaps they were headded for the ports where the great Atlantic ships could take them to the promised land of America, and either ran out of money or were seduced by the steady West of Scotland drizzle who knows?
But many stayed. And opened ice cream cafes, wich rapidly diversified into fish and chip shop sto suit the local climate and palate. Which is why there have now been four generations of Nutinis in Paisley, with their origins in Barga.
But anyway, what about the music?
Young Paolo arrived an the music scene in 2006 with his debut album for Atlantic Records, no less called “Theese Streets” which went on to sell over two million copies. Not bad for a 19 year old.
Since then, there have been extensive tours, support acts for Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones and tributes, from Liza Minelli and Rod Stweart, both fans. He is currently Touring in the United States, and Italian fans can look forward to seeing him here in the late autumn.
Launched at the beginning of June, his new album “Sunny Side Up” is refreshingly personal, unprocessed, joyful musicmaking from Nutini and his band the Vipers with a decidedly old-fashioned sound. He claims toh ave been able to do pretty much as he pleased with this album, to enjoy himself and reflect much of the musi che grew up with. One suspects there was a fair amount of Bob Dylan played in the Nutini household, not to mention otis redding and Bob Marley with maybe a wee bit of Lonnie Dinegan and Louis Prima.
Think R & B, soul, reggae and country rock, with a bit of ragtime for good measure.
His voice can be gruff he certainly sounds a lot older than 22 and one on the single “Candy” taken from the album, one reviewer has descrive him as “sounding spookily like a Scottish Bruce Springsteen”.
These days of course an album is scarcely more then a concept, with fans able to download their preferred tracks and ignore the rest. Potentially disheartening for artists, this maybe in fact gives them the freedom to experiment and be themselves, knowing that fans are not now oblie to buy the whole package.
The tracks which are already emerging as favourite are Candy, Tricks of the Trade, 10/10, Growing Up Beside You and (my favourite) Coming Up Easy.
The title “Sunny Side Up” certainly seems to reflect the Nutini philosophy.
No angst here, just positive thinking and a bit of homespun philosophy. And he’s italian at heart, he loves his Mum and Dad.
So what if the lyrics get a title banal sometimes? This is feelgood summer music for bopping to in the open air, while the drinks nare chilling. Enjoy!

Tuscany – Siena countryside, the Abbey of S. Galgano

The Cistercian Abbey of San Galgano is an historically and architecturally one of the most important religious monuments in Siena countryside and, together with the nearby chapel at Monte Siepi, is an important expression of the gothic Cistercian style in Italy.
The Cistercian order was born in Citeaux, Bordeaux, in 1098 as a means of reinforcing the Benedictine order and restoring the discipline which had progressively been lost. Cistercian monasteries were built throughout Europe, primarily along important arteries and roads leading to Citeaux. Construction began on the abbey of San Galgano in 1218 in the vicinity of Chiusdino and Monticiano on the Massetana road and just a short distance from the Merse river.
Architecturally, its severe, rigorously formal design was intended to exemplify the moral rigour upheld by St. Bernard. Not coincidentally, the abbey was built in an area already sanctified by the presence of the chapel at Monte Siepi, built at the end of the twelfth century to consecrate the home of the young hermit Galgano Guidotti, who died in 1181 and was canonized in 1185.
The abbey was consecrated seventy years after the first stone was laid. This marked the onset of frenetic religious activity and of activity in general in an area where the valley is wide-open and sunny. First the marshy fields were drained, and then the river’s flow was harnessed to produce hydraulic energy.
It seems that the original design of the abbey foresaw mills for flour-making and wool processing. But in the end the abbey enjoyed only a brief life. Decline was brought on first by famine in 1329 and then by Bubonic plague in 1348, sealing the fate of this monastic settlement.
In the sixteenth century the structure itself began to succumb, especially once the lead roofing was sold.