Doves in Villa Fiori Park

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

La Festa della Colombina…the festival of the little dove…is to be held on 19th May in the beautiful Villa Fiori Park in Ponte a Serraglio.

There was a tradition in the late 1800s to bake bread in the shape of a dove and serve it in the Ponte a Serraglio cafes. There will be an opportunity to taste Colombina in the park along with other treats.

Stalls selling local products will be there and you will be able to join in games from the time of our grandparents…adults and children together.

For a small fee it will be possible to paint your own Colombina…a small statuette designed by Maureen Halson. Here are 2 we prepared earlier.

I walked past the Villa Fiori Park a little while ago and the gardener was there preparing the park for us. I hope you will all come from about 10.00am on Sunday 19th May for what I am sure will be a fun day. There is lots of parking beside the Park.

As well as this, on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May the Croce Rossa Italiana, (Red Cross) Bagni di Lucca branch, will be presenting a health care information event.

It is to be held in the piazza in front of the Circolo dei Forestieri from 3.00pm – 6.30pm on Saturday and on Sunday from 10.00am – 1.00pm and 3.00pm – 6.30pm. It is free of charge. I think everyone should attend this…I’m sure we would all like to lead healthy lives.

From now until 18th May check what is happening at Teatro Accademico. The School Theatre Festival, which has been running for 20 years is on over the next few weeks, with performances by local school children. To see more about this step over to From London to Longoio.

I had a small complaint recently that I only talk about events after they have happened. It is not always easy to know what is going on in the area. I try to keep my eyes and ears open, but often things are not all that well publicised.

If you are organising and event, or know of something happening, and you would like to me to talk about it, please email me at debrakolkka@gmail.com and I will do my best to write about it on the blog.

Strawberries and harp music

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

We were invited to an event to mark the closing of Morena Guarnaschelli’s art exhibition at the Bagni di Lucca Terme. Who could resist another chance to see the gorgeous salon in this historic building?

The Salon is where the game of roulette was said to be first played. The room became too small and Europe’s first Casino was built beside the river at Ponte a Serraglio.

Morena was there to greet us.

We had some time to look at her beautiful art exhibition. Click here to see more.

We took our seats and Dr Vito Valentino spoke to us about the history of the room and about Morena’s art.

Anna-Livia’s harp looked perfectly at home in this lovely setting.

Anna-Livia Walker studied at the Luigi Boccherini school in Lucca. She played a delightful selection of music for us, from classical compositions to the more recent Scarborough Fair and Moon River.

To make the morning even more special, we were treated to chocolate brownies, strawberries and cream and sparkling wine. What a delightful way to spend a Sunday morning.

Breakfast at the station

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

My friend Heather and I were waiting for a train at the Fornoli station the other morning when we spotted a small herd of goats, with their owner and their dog, having breakfast beside the tracks.

They were a very handsome family of goats, with impressive horns, and lovely beards…obviously well looked after.

Just as our train pulled into the station the little group wandered off after enjoying some tasty new spring leaves.

I do love these little rustic scenes that happen occasionally in Bagni di Lucca.

Concerto Jazz di Primavera

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Last night in the beautiful Sala Rosa del Circoli dei Forrestieri there was a wonderful performance by the very talented Pellegrini Family Groove Jazz Quartet.

The room was full of eager jazz lovers.

The quartet performed a selection in both English and Italian from the early 1900s to 1974, including favourites like Just a Gigolo, The man I love, Maramao perche sei morto and Duke Ellington’s sound of love.

The free evening was presented by the Comune di Bagni di Lucca, The Fondazione Michel de Montaigne and Fondazione Cassa di Risoarmio di Lucca.

Bagni di Lucca’s mayor Dottore Betti joined Prof. Marcello to thank the musicians.

There was an encore performance of Route 66…and we all went downstairs to the elegant Circolo dei Forestieri for a delicious dinner.

The free concerts are a regular occurrence in Bagni di Lucca. Look for notice of future events at the Information Centre, the Library, or posters around the town. Bagni di Lucca has a long history of art and music. It is an excellent tradition to continue.

Click here for more about the restaurant at Circolo dei Forestieri.

La Mostra di Morena

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Morena Guarnaschelli, a prominent member of Borgo degli Artisti, has a lovely exhibition of her paintings in a gorgeous salon in Terme di Bagni di Lucca at Bagni Caldi, above Ponte a Serraglio.

Surely this room is one of the most beautiful secrets in Bagni di Lucca.

The walls and ceiling are covered with delightful frescoes.

I particularly liked the birds decorating the ceiling.

Morena’s exhibition is on until the 28th April. Don’t miss it…and take the time to look at the beautiful salon.

www.termebagnidilucca.it

Bagni di Lucca’s Art Festival

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Bagni di Lucca is set to host a brand new Art Festival this summer. In the sunny months of July, August and September Ponte a Seraglio will be filled with performance artists, painters, sculptors and photographers.

Meet part of the organizing team.

From the left…Jaqueline, Ira, our Sindaco Dottore Betti and Jake.

With the help of our Sindaco (mayor), our beautiful venues, such as the Teatro Accademico, the Casino, the Sala Parrocchiale and others will be filled with exciting performance artists. Click here to see more on the Casino and here for the Teatro Accademico.

As well as this, artists will be able to display their collections of art work in some of the unused shops in the main street of Ponte a Serraglio at no cost. One of the best aspects of this is that the local people are getting involved in the clean up and renovation of these lovely shops, some of which have been empty for decades.

It is absolutely wonderful to see people working together to make the village more beautiful and to provide a welcome space for the artists.

A particularly exciting part if the festival will be provided by the very talented (and charming) Ira Seidenstein. Ira has been involved in the theatre since 1973 as an actor, director, playwright and choreographer. He also has extensive experience in clown theatre. Among other things he has worked with the world renowned Cirque du Soleil as a performer and teacher.

It is in his capacity as a teacher that he will be involved in the Art Festival. Ira has conducted workshops in London, Paris, Auckland , Barcelona and is now on his way to Vienna and Malmo, Sweden to continue. He has also conducted workshops in Brisbane where he now lives. (it is indeed a small world, he lives just minutes from our house in West End)

Ira will be conducting a workshop the last week in August and the first week of September, with a performance to follow in conjunction with the Art Festival. He was in town recently to look at suitable venues, and was delighted with what Bagni di Lucca has to offer. How lucky we are that someone of his calibre is involved with our very first Art Festival.

Check out his website…you will be impressed. www.iraseid.com

Top marks to Jaqueline and Jake for getting the festival off the ground. Everybody is invited to take part in whatever way possible…as an artist, helper, renovator or perhaps, most importantly as a spectator.

Please look at the Art Festival’s website and be involved in this exciting event in Bagni di Lucca.

http://www.artfestivalbagnidilucca.org

A celebration of women

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

At the Casino in Ponte a Serraglio there is an art exhibition to celebrate women. As well as a chance to see the beautifully restored interior of this historic building, you can see and exhibition of painting, sculpture and photography.

A large crowd gathered for the opening event.

For me the most interesting part of the exhibition is a display of craft, beautiful pieces of handwork done mostly by women. Some of these talents are being lost in these busy times and it is wonderful to see such a lovingly collected items of sewing, weaving, spinning, embroidery and lace work.

I can imagine busy hands creating these things for families and friends in any spare moment. Many of these skills are being lost forever. Thank you Gemma Fazzi and her team for showing us this lovely collection.

The exhibition continues until Friday 15th March and is open in the evenings from 5pm until 8pm. On Friday evening there will be a fashion parade followed by refreshments.

A walk in Bagni di Lucca

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

This Saturday 23rd February there will be 2 guided walks around Bagni di Lucca. The first will start in the piazza at Ponte a Serraglio at 10.00am and will be lead by Paolo Moschino. There will be a short walk to introduce the village and will include commentary on the art and history of our lovely Ponte a Serraglio.

The second walk will begin in La Villa at the Parco Contessa Casalini at 15.30.

Don’t worry, the snow has melted now, but I couldn’t resist posting more of my snow photos.
The commentary will be in Italian, but everyone is invited to join in.

Please call 3338893108 or 3407806967 for more details.

Mini Carnevale in Fornoli

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Sunday was party day at Fornoli. The main street was closed to traffic and stalls selling all kinds of treats were set up early. The main event, however, began at about 2.30 near the Ponte delle Catene at Chifenti. This is where the crowds gathered to watch the start of the parade which was to cross the bridge and head into the town.

The mayor was there.

A man in a very nice green sash gave an enthusiastic speech.

Some people in very colourful costumes were there.

There was an excellent band.

One band member had eyelashes to match her shirt.

The band leader did a great job, and wore a particularly colourful scarf.

But mostly the day was about children. Local schools took part in a dress up competition and the children looked very splendid indeed.

Heroes and superheroes were well represented, so we all felt secure and protected.

The very young were included as well.

Not everyone was happy to be there.

But that was the exception. It was a fun afternoon with everyone getting into the spirit of the occasion…even when it began to rain.

Serious soup

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Last year I went with Heather Jarman of Sapori-e-Saperi to the finals of the Disfida della Zuppa…the local Slow Food soup competition. The soup is a speciality of the area, zuppa all frantoiana, a type of minestrone, based on 4 ingredients…beans, cavolo nero, olive oil and toasted bread.

Each family would have their own recipe handed down through generations, each with its own extras, which should be of the season. Last year there was much discussion about the addition of zucchini, which doesn’t grow in winter. A couple of soups were criticised for adding zucchini…I told you this was serious.

This year I attended the first heat of the competition in Pieve di Compito, close to Lucca. There were 6 soups vying to go forward to the next stage.

The room was still being prepared when we arrived.

The numbered bowls were stacked and ready.

People began to gather.

Tasting and voting instructions were given.

…and the first soup arrived. Heather and I really liked this one, even though is was a little salty. The aroma was excellent, the texture good and it had a good balance of beans, vegetables and bread.

The next one was also good, with quite a different taste. It is amazing how different the soups can be using similar ingredients.

The third one tasted very good, but there was a little too much bread.

The bowls began to stack up.

Number 4 was good, we liked the whole beans.

The fifth one looked quite different, but the taste was good.

The final soup arrived and we had to make some serious decisions.

The first soup was my favourite.

Last year the discussion became heated about zucchini. This year it was tomatoes. It was agreed that tomatoes are not in season in winter, so perhaps should not be in the soup, but finally most people agreed that they could be there because it would be usual to bottle tomatoes in the summer and most households would have a good supply of passata to be used over the winter months.

People often ask me why the food is so good in Italy. I think the story above goes a long way to explaining why. Food is a serious business here. Everybody has a strong opinion, tradition is respected and people demand good food. They expect to eat well at home and in restaurants and will have their say if what they are served doesn’t come up to expectations…and rightly so.

Heather and I left before the judging was completed, so I don’t know which soup was chosen as the winner. I will let you know if I find out.

Click here to see the exciting finals from last year.

Bella Bagni di Lucca

A beautiful village in Tuscany

Category Archives: Things to see and do