Merry Christmas from Bagni di Lucca

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Christmas is a lovely time to be in Bagni di Lucca. Christmas lights appear, panettone is eaten and little festivals happen.

One of the most delightful of these is the Presepi Viventi…Living Nativity. This year Granaiola was turned into a living nativity scene. It was a cold afternoon but everyone kept warm with wine, crepes and roasted chestnuts.

Visitors walked through the village to witness displays of traditonal crafts, food and entertainment. It is wonderful to see everyone take part.

Here are some photos kindly forwarded by my friend Belinda.

I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Cascio and chestnuts

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

October and November are great months for autumn festivals in the mountains. I attended several this year and one of my favourites was the one in Cascio.

Cascio is a tiny village in the Garfagnana. It is of early medieval origin situated on the ancient road linking Modena and Lucca. These days it is a sleepy village basking in the Tuscan sun. It has some wonderful ancient building and they are well preserved.

Hundreds of people descended on the village on the day of the chestnut festival. The little square was full of stalls selling all sorts of interesting things.

People gathered on the grassy field waiting for the chestnuts to be roasted and the food prepared.

Below the village there was another area for food preparation…and eating. The cooks were kept very busy making the pancakes and putting the plates together.

Above the village beside the castle sweets were served. I stopped on the way to admire the view.

The old castle looks wonderful. I will go back one day to explore further.

As I was about to leave a group of musicians and dancers put on a fine show and I stayed to watch.

The Cascio festival is one of the best I have attended. It was a perfect sunny autumn day and everyone had a great time.Look out for it next year. I’m sure you will love it.

Cider by Chris

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

My friend Chris Buxton has a lovely little cottage in Colle, above Ponte a Serraglio.

This is Chris…I’ll let him tell you the cider story.

At a lovely late September barbecue, looking over an orchard teeming with fruit, missing my English pub and the real ales and ciders, I wondered what is done with all the apples…not much it seems…and no one makes or drinks cider…what a waste.

My friend, Super Mario, as I call him, found the owner, who said I could help myself to the apples. Others knocked on my door and Mario Morotti offered me the apples below his vineyard. If only I had known how steep and how far below!

It looked as though I had passed the point of no return. Thankfully some Ponte people offered their assistance and cider production was underway…with some extra help from Luna.

There was a bit of research, a bit of borrowing equipment from friends and neighbours and some advice from local wine makers.

…some supervision by Luna.

I won’t bore you with the details, but there’s not an awful lot more to do than get the juice from the apples and let nature take its course.

The end result? Some weak, some strong, some bottled clear and fizzy, some the way traditionalists like it, natural and cloudy.

It has been fun tasting it, sharing it…

…but alas it is not to everyone’s taste.

Thank you Chris for sharing your tale of cider. I hope there is some left when I get back to Bagni di Lucca.

2 events in Bagni di Lucca

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Talented local artist Morena Guarnaschelli will be exhibiting her latest work at Gabrielli Center at Ponte a Serraglio in conjunction with Andrea’s La Via Interiore and Borgo degli Artisti.

Morena will exhibit 9 water colours inspired by her trip to the Holy Land 2 years ago. The title INSIEME has a double meaning…through art we can see Hebrew and Muslim side by side.

Morena is also offering a Zentangle Course…doodling while meditating…on Friday, 5.30pm and Saturday 3.00pm. Call her on 320 1107330 if you would like to take part.

The second event is the annual dinner of Borgo degli Artisti. Everyone is welcome and they will present the 2015 calendar of events.

I am sure both events wil be well attended…have fun.

Then and Now…Villa Ada

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Villa Ada is the 16th century residence of the De’Nobili family. It is set in a beautiful park, which is still used occasionally for events such as the archery competition.

It is still possible to see how elegant it must have been with its lovely covered walkway down to the village. I can imagine what a cool, shady place it must have been on a hot summer day.

You can see Villa Ada in this 1905 photo of La Villa…it is just below the row of cypress trees on the hill.

The photo below was taken in 1908.

It was still looking good 1937.

Villa Ada has belonged to the Comune since 1975. Work has been done to preserve it, but it needs new owners to love and care for it…any takers?

It looks OK from a distance, but as you get closer you can see that it is beginning to deteriorate.

The marble sculpture, The Nymph of the Spa and another statue were in the entrance, but the nymph now resides in the Comune building. I don’t know what happened to the other one.

The grounds must have been very beautiful. It wouldn’t take too much to restore the gardens.

Bagni di Lucca is full of places like this. Is there anyone out there with lots of money?

Guest post by Belinda

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Lovely Belinda, who is currently living at Ponte a Serraglio, has written a post for us about a walk she did in August with guides Franz Della Mea and Francesco Foschi. Francesco took the beautiful photos of the scenery along the way.

A long walk to Lago Nero…by Belinda

Luckily the August day we chose for our long walk to Lago Nero was not too hot. Our destination is quite high in the mountains so we had to be careful to dress appropriately, you can never be sure of the weather in the mountains and it can change suddenly.

Our journey began at the base of Prato Fiorito. I was promised a long walk and my guides certainly gave it to me. Our uphill walk lasted for 5 hours.

Lago Nero is close to Abetone and we passed gorgeous scenery along the way. Sometimes looking over the edge towards Orrido di Botri was a bit ‘hairy’.

Admiring the view

The upward journey seemed endless at times, but we stopped often to take in the magnificent views and to eat our Mars bars for energy.

A standout tree

More stunning scenery

We finally reached Lago Nero. The lake definitely looks black…hence the name. We were very close to Abetone, in fact we could see the cable cars and ski run tracks.

Happily on a downhill bit towards the lake

The lake is small and at quite a high altitude, 1,730 metres elevation. It is in the Provence of Pistoia in northern Tuscany.

The lake comes into view

Beautiful Lago Nero

Guide number 3, Rino, cooling off in the lake

We really deserved our lunch at the rifugio where we dined on cheese, bread and red wine. These rifugios are dotted through the area and do a great job for a small donation.

After an hour rest we struggled to get our tired legs moving for the 4.5 hour return walk…the only way home.

On the way back to Prato Fiorito we took in different details of the landscape. For instance,the many variety of mushrooms and colours…and found it fun hunting down a bag full of the small bright yellow ones which are a flavoursome ingredient with the right pasta. We also noticed patches of ‘dug-up ground and rustled leaves, evidence of chingali, but luckily the wild boar were nowere to be seen in the daylight.

The 9.5 hour walk was a bit gruelling at times but fabulously rewarding. A return visit is in order for next summer.

There are lots of amazing walks in the mountains around Bagni di Lucca. I will tell you soon of some others I have done.

Halloween

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Halloween is a good excuse for a party. Annalisa threw a fun dress-up party at Bar Italia in Ponte a Serraglio.

There was an interesting cast of characters.

Please note the headless doll in the photo below.

Later in the evening we headed off to Borgo a Mozzano for the famous party which ends in fireworks at the Ponte a Maddelena.

The streets were very crowded, the lighting patchy, so my photos mostly didn’t turn out well.

There were some great costumes. I was particularly impressed by a fellow with an axe through his head and several strings of sausages around his neck. No photos…he got away too quickly.

We shuffled along with the rest of the crowd towards the bridge at the appointed hour. As we arrived a figure swathed in white was being carried to the top of the bridge. Her head fell off on the way, appropriate under the circumstances. She was duly put back together and thrown off the bridge…a sign for the fireworks to get under way.

The audience was enthralled.

I have been wanting to attend the celebrations at Borgo a Mozzano for many years. I have now done so and will be content with that one visit.

Festa della Zucca

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Autumn is a time for festivals in our area. Many villages celebrate the season with festivals honouring the local produce. I recently attended the Festa della Zucca (pumpkin festival) in Piegaia, not far from Bagni di Lucca.

There were lots of people there enjoying the many stalls selling interesting things to do with pumpkins and other delights.

There were pumpkins in all shapes and sizes.

Delicious food was available. We chose penne with pumpkin and creme brûlée with pumpkin.

It is great to see these festival well attended by people of all ages. Everyone joins in and has a great time. I went with Heather from Sapori e Saperi. She knows all the best places to go.

Come to the chestnut festival at Ponte a Serraglio

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

The annual chestnut festival is to be held at Ponte a Serraglio in the park beside Villa Fiori on Sunday 19th October.

Here are some photos from past events. There will be chestnuts roasting, necci to eat, activities for the children and things to buy.

If the weather is bad it will be held the following Sunday.

Finally, a clean up

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

The Ponte della Maddalena is the most recognisable structure in our area. It is a 900 year old treasure.

It is possible to see in this photo some of the build up of debris on the buttresses of the bridge. We have had lots of rain over the last 12 months and the river has been carrying lots of rubbish along with it and quite a bit has gathered around the base of the bridge.

Finally, the clean up has begun. The river has been diverted and the tree branches and other bits and pieces are being removed.

It is good to see the Ponte della Maddalena being looked after. I never tire of looking at this amazing bridge every time I pass. I often stop and walk across and enjoy the view from the top as well. Let’s hope it is here for another 900 years.

Francis has written about the clean up too on his blog. Click here to see his report.

Bella Bagni di Lucca

A beautiful village in Tuscany

Category Archives: Things to see and do