Arno River
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. The river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and takes initially a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea at Marina di Pisa. With a length of 241 kilometers, it is the largest river in the region.
It crosses Florence, where it passes below the Ponte Vecchio and the Santa Trìnita bridge (built by Bartolomeo Ammanati, but inspired by Michelangelo). The river flooded this city regularly in historical times, the last occasion being the famous flood of 1966, with 4,500 m³/s after a rain of 437.2 mm in Badia Agnano and 190 millimetres in Florence, in only 24 hours.
The flow rate of the Arno is irregular. It is sometimes described as having a torrent-like behaviour, because it can easily go from almost dry to near-flood in a few days. At the point where the Arno leaves the Apennines, flow measurements can vary between 0.56 m³/s and 3,540 m³/s. New dams built upstream of Florence have greatly alleviated the problem in recent years.
CYPRESS TREES (Cupressus sempervirens)
Few people can imagine an Italian garden, without images of tall, needle-like cypress trees springing to mind, so strong is the image of the cypress tree in Italy. The cypress tree’s name would suggest that it didn’t originate in Italy – even though its image really does symbolise Italy and everything that’s Italian about this wonderful land!
The Cypress tree’s origins are just as mysterious as it’s early uses and the folklore surrounding it! It is thought to be a native of the ancient Mesopotamia region between the Tiber and Euphrates rivers, which covered the area of modern day Iraq and Iran (once known as Persia). This area that was covered with Mediterranean forests was also the original home of the magical cypress tree. The same area, namely Persia, was also home to the ancient and equally mysterious Etruscan civilisation that inhabited Tuscany many years before Christ. The Etruscans regarded the cypress tree to be extremely sacred and it is widely believed that it was indeed the Etruscans that originally brought the cypress tree with them when the they began arriving in Tuscany.
The evergreen cypress tree grows to height of 20 to 25m and can survive for many thousands of years, outliving many generations of humans. The cypress tree’s longevity, the fact that it remained evergreen throughout the harsh winters and it’s heady resinous scent earned the plant a divine and spiritual status in Etruscan society. The Etruscans used the plant to line the entrances to their dwellings and they seem to have planted as many cypress’ as possible near to their settlements as they believed the fresh, resinous scent purified the air. On hot days one can detect the scent of a group of cypress trees from many metres away and it’s easy to understand why the Etruscans believed the tree improved the atmosphere with its fresh scent.
The wood of the cypress tree is very long lasting owing to its thick, resinous sap, which protects the wood from insect attack. In fact, the timber also emits a strong yet pleasant scent for many years and the Etruscans used the wood of the cypress tree to create sarcophagi and also in the cremation ceremonies themselves, so special was this plant to these early people.
In the Italian garden the cypress tree offers garden designers like me a tree that provides a vertical visual statement that really no other tree can provide. The evergreen, symbolic shape of this tree, standing s20m tall, appears to stretch skywards rather like the steeple of church and one could be forgiven for perceiving strong, spiritual connotations regarding the shape of this tree alone. Standing in the middle of a group of fully grown cypress trees and looking at the sky is most definitely a spiritual experience, as a strong link can be felt between the land on which one stands and abyss of the blue sky above.
Garden designers in Italy still use the cypress tree to line entrance driveways and create evergreen structure around the house and their presence clearly evokes strong symbolic sentiments. I find them indispensible for framing the stunning views that can be seen from many Italian gardens or as visual indications to guide the eye around my garden designs. The use of the cypress tree in Italian garden design is fundamental, however, care should be taken to not exaggerate the use of this immensely special, symbolic yet very subtle tree in Italian style gardens.
Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net “A frog in the well does not know the sea.”- Japanese Proverb
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.
