Pieve Santo Stefano Church
This church was built on the site of a small, early Christian church betwen 1000 and 1200. Its Romanesque layout can still be seen on left side and in the apse with its the three windows with one light.
In the 16th century the church was enlarged and a portico was added to the faced, but the inside was completely redesigned at the end of the 18th century.
The church has a nave and two isles, and a vaulted ceiling with decorations dating back to 1910. Inside there is a very fine, late 16th century organ, the work of Onofrio Zecchini; an altar price by Zacchia with La Madonna tra i Santi Rocco e Sebastiano, which is now in the Villa Guinigi museum and has been replaced by an 19th century copy by Michele Ridolfi.
From Lucca to Mammoli
The are that extends along the right bank of the river Serchio from the bridge at Monte San Quirico, where the water courses down from the narrow mountain sides, is studded with villages such as Santo Stefano di Moriano, San Michele di Moriano and San Quirico di Moriano; higher up, there is Aquilea, Gugliano, Mastiano, Arsina and San Concordio di Moriano. All of them immersed in the peaceful landscape of vineyards, olive groves and woodland of the valleys and the steeper north facing slopes.
On the left side of the road leaving from Lucca there are the beautiful entrances to villa Barsanti, villa Ciurlo and villa Boccella, and the avenues and parks of other villas which can be seen from higher up the road.
The flat areas between the foot of the hills and the river Serchio, on the other hand, are geometrically patterned by extensive areas of fruit trees.
The first village, indicated by a votive cross at the turnoff for the curch, is San Quirico di Moriano, whose ancient origins are documented in a 9th century parchment that mentions the locality of Aniciano or Nicciano and the church of Saints Quirico e Giulitta.
Bulding dreams in Tuscany
Many people have herad about italian bureaucracy. And there is a natural fear of purchasing property in a country where you don’t know the language or the costums.
There is “Anderò srl”, a company dedicated to finding unique locations in the lucchese hills and building luxury holiday homes for foreign and Italian buyers. What makes Anderò special is that Lou and Jim (the owners) take a personal interest in everyone they meet, becoming their personal guide through the process of home ownership.
They hope that everyone who buys a holiday home from them will become a friend, in the same way that Lou and Jim have become close friends with the people who helped make their transition to Lucca easy. it is more than just knowing the local lawyer, architect or builder. It is that personal relationships. You can see it in the enthusiasm they bring to their everyday activities, all aimed at fulfilling their company motto: building dreams in Tuscany.
They also know that foreign buyers of holiday homes want to be assured of the safety of their home want to be assured of the safety of their home when they are not resident, and many wiuld like a rental income to help offset their investment. That is why Anderò offers a wide range of property management and concierge services to owners and their guests, and a three year rental guarantee program to help buyers manage the cash flow from their holiday home.
Lou and Jim have a knack for finding special properties with exceptional features. Wheter it is the spectacular view from Villa Arsina or the tranquil valley below the church in San Gennaro, each Anderò development offers peace and beauty, along with hundreds of olive trees for the owners to share. The high quality of these for the owners to share. The high quality of these developments has attracted foreign and lucchese investors to Anderò many interested in buying their own holiday home upon the return from their investment. New investors are now being sought for future Anderò projects.
So, if you want to pursue your dream of a home in Tuscany and you find yourself in contact with Lou and Jim, don’t be surprised if you end up at Jim’s home just four miles from the walls of Lucca, learning to make pizza in his wood burning oven, overlooking the beautiful Apuan mountains. The Tuscan style pizza, the local Lucca and Montecarlo wines, and his homemade lemon ricotta torta at the end of the evening just might convince you to make Lucca Your home.
Gualdo (near Massarosa)
The road to the village climbs through a dense, centuries old wood from which Gualdo takes its name (Waldum is the German word for wood). The village is mentioned in a document dated 1099, when a “villa” subject to the Jus of San martino, to which Massarosa still belonged, was situated here. In 1224 the church at Gualdo was attacked by the vassals of the lords of Montemagno; the pope humself had to intervene to bring an end to the dispute.
In 1266 the government of Gualdo declared its independence from the podestà of Massarosa and it drew up its own statute which represented the first important statement by a municipal body in the entire territory of Lucca. The village had a castle, of which very little remains, and it was probably situated where the church now stands. The church of saints Nicolao and Giusto is mentioned in documents of the 13th century, but it was replaced in the 16th century by the present building, which was enalrged in the 18th century in the baroque style and restored in 1912.
The village has preserved its medieval character, with narrow streets climbing up to the top of the hill on which the castle stood. There are many ancient stone houses with small doors and windows, and with a few elegant buildings situated between them. At the top of the mountain there is the small village square of splendid simplicity and harmony.
Luciano
Luciano is a small village with an exceptional position with a view of the Tyrrhenian coastline and wide section of the Versilia plain.
A narrow road crosses the entire length of the little village and at on either side there are numerous villas with their sober, elegant facades.
Every villa has a garden with flower beds and trees and they are almost like open-air drawing rooms with a view of the sea.
Amongst these: Villa Del Magro, with its austere facade, short stairway from the road and box hedges in the garden that looks out at the view; villa Cervelli, hidden behiand the thick vegetation of its garden; villa Pellegrini, also has a marvellous view of the Versilia coastline. All these country villas had their own family chapel, olive mill, lemon house and walled kitchen garden.
