Summer time is busy in Bagni di Lucca with lots of local events.
Morena Guarnaschelli will exhibit 15 of her art works at the casino in Ponte a Serraglio. The exhibition will begin on 5th August. Valerie Ceccarelli is organising the event.
There are lots of other things coming up. Montefegatesi has done a great job in organising events.
Crasciana has lots of events coming up.
Brandeglio is busy too.
A day for children is happening in San Cassiano.
It is great to see communities getting together to create summer fun.
I recently given a wonderful book to read by the author, Dawn Cumming, who lives in Granaiola. Dawn is an art historian specialising in Italian Renaissance Art. She divides her time between Bagni di Lucca and the UK. She has a passion for Tuscany, particularly its art and culture. Her book is called In Search of Annalena. A Life of Tragedy and Triumph in Renaissance Florence, published in October 2020. It follows the life of Annalena, born in the time of the Medici. Her story is set in Florence where she marries, becomes a young widow and establishes a convent. Part of the building still exists.
I loved the book! I felt that I was with Annalena in Florence, walking the streets she walked, seeing the buildings she saw and getting a feeling of life in Renaissance Florence.
In Search of Annalena is exquisitely researched. Dawn’s love of Florence is clear. I look forward to my next trip to Florence so that I can visit Casa di Annalena and find the other places that were important in her life. She was a remarkable woman with a fascinating life.
I am home in Australia for a while. Fortunately, fellow Australian, Liz Litzow was on hand for the opening night of the new enoteca and took some photos to share.
I wish the new business the best for a successful future and look forward to going there when I return.
There is a new shop in Bagni di Lucca, Villa. It is called Flora Gioh Donatella. We are lucky to have artist Scarlaty Arribabene and her beautiful designs in our town.
She studied modern art at Moma in New York and now shows and sells her work in her shop in Bagni di Lucca. All pieces from Flora Gioh Donatella are made with love by Scarlaty. She makes jewellery with a botanical theme. Each piece of the collection represents leaves, flowers and delicate fragments of nature.
She also makes deliciously fragrant candles.
Donatella is a line of paintings that combine shapes and textures, harmony and contradiction.
The shop is bright, spacious and inviting.
I met the delightful artist recently and I wish her the best in her new venture.
Flora Gioh Donatella is in Via Umberto I, at the post office end of the street.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 