Meet Olga, our newest Ponte person. She has taken over the little news kiosk in Ponte a Serraglio.
As well as newpapers, magazines and small gift items, you can buy bus and train tickets at the kiosk.
Good luck with your new business Olga.
We set off on a lazy Sunday afternoon to visit Brandeglio, one of the villages of Bagni di Lucca. It sits 629 metres above sea level, 6.5 kilometres from La Villa. It has a population of 67 people.
We parked in the car park outside the village and made our way through the winding streets.
The early summer gardens were gorgeous and the window boxes especially lovely.
I found an old motorcycle that had been put to good use.
We found the lovely old church.
Inside there was a beautiful altar and a painting of the last supper.
There is always a snoozing cat.
This one woke up for his photo.
In the piazza we came upon this sign.
Just as well we had parked the car outside the village. There was to be a procession later that afternoon. The square and chapel were decorated for the occasion.
There was a little girl with a basket of rose petals trying to decorate the square but the wind was ruining her work.
What a pity we couldn’t stay for the festivities, the square looked beautiful with its rose petals, despite the wind.
The views from Brandeglio are stunning.
Take the time to drive up to Brandeglio. Like all the villages that make up Bagni di Lucca, it has its own character.
Lugliano is on top of the hill in the photo….that little bump with the tower beside it is the main part of the village. You can just see a row of houses along the ridge.
Daniela and Mauro are the parents of my lovely friend Paolo, so they were the obvious choice for me to talk to about Lugliano, the village that sits high above Ponte a Serraglio, just a few kilometres drive up the winding road behind my apartment.
Daniela and Mauro live in a beautiful house with a great garden that keeps Daniela busy.
They have a spectacular view over the surrounding mountains from their terrace.
Mauro makes beautiful wood carvings which he sells from a pretty little shop in Ponte a Serraglio.
Mauro and Daniela met in the village, not very far from where they now live. I took a walk along the ridge where Lugliano sits and up the hill to the little cluster of houses there.
The church at the start of the village.
Keeping watch over Lugliano.
A beautiful view.
The little road winds up the hill to the main part of the village.
Come for a walk around Lugliano.
The views over La Villa, Ponte a Serraglio and beyond are wonderful.
Lugliano looks good from below as well.
Say hello Mauro and Daniela at their shop in Ponte a Serraglio in the summer months. It is beside the Bar Italia.
There has been a crop of weddings held in Bagni di Lucca recently. It makes sense. The area is beautiful and it seems so romantic to be married in Italy. Couples have been coming from as far afield as Norway, England and Australia to get married in our gorgeous town.
The new mayor of Bagni di Lucca officiated at a recent wedding at the Circolo dei Forrestieri (Foreigners’ Club) The bride and bridesmaid arrived in a converted Ape…you could almost call it a stretch Ape.
Guests on the balcony waiting for the bride.
After another wedding I found some abandoned hearts floating in the garden of the Circolo.
Organising a wedding in another country can be formidable, but Lisa from Hitched in Italy can help you organise a special day in Bagni di Lucca. I’m sure it would be a big help to have someone taking care of the details so you can just enjoy the day.
There is a tennis club in La Villa, the main village of Bagni di Lucca. The courts operate all year. In winter there are huge covers erected to keep out the rain and cold.
I have been here since early February and it has been fun to watch these trees turn green with the arrival of spring.
Now the covers are off for the summer.
The courts are clay and some friends played there recently and said they were excellent.
The courts are for hire, with or without your own equipment.
Phone 0583 805342 for information.
Tina was one of the first people I met when I came to Ponte a Serraglio, lucky me. She has been a great help to us in all things, in fact, our lives here would have been much more difficult if not for Tina. She knows everything worth knowing about Bagni di Lucca….and she speaks perfect English.
Tina’s mother was from Bagni di Lucca, and her father came from Piacenza, but she was born in New York. Her father died when she was young, and at 12 years of age she came with her mother to live at Ponte a Serraglio in 1949, in the lean years after the war. I asked her to tell me some of what she remembers of her life in the village.
Tina arrived after the war, but memories were still fresh then. There was a lot of fighting in the area. Remnants of the Gottica Line can still be seen nearby.
The Ponte a Serraglio piazza was damaged during World War 11. The retreating Germans destroyed the bridge and a temporary one was put in by the Allied Troops. Tina’s grandmother told of an incident involving the over enthusiastic use of dynamite to widen the road to allow tanks through, which resulted in the near destruction of several buildings in the square. The front of our building also suffered some damage, but was able to be repaired.
What is now the Bar Italia and the Bridge Hotel were rebuilt in 1951 – 1952 along with the new bridge. Things slowly improved in the 1950s when buildings were repaired and painted and by the 1960s Ponte a Serraglio was a thriving town.
There were 3 grocery stores, 2 fruit and vegetable shops, 2 butchers, a pharmacy, 2 hairdressers and 2 barbers, a hardware store, 2 bakeries, a fabric store and one that sold sewing machines, a cigarette and cigar store, a shoe store, shoe repairers and bicycle repairs and a bank.
As well as the 2 bars, which are still operating, there were 3 osterias to provide meals and places for people to gather and socialise.
At the time ready to wear clothing was still not popular and there were a few seamstresses in the village. Not everyone had a well equipped kitchen and people would take their roast dinners and cakes and biscuits to the bakeries to be cooked after the bread was done for the day. One of the cooks was particularly good with biscuits and quite a few of hers never made it home.
There was a police station near Villa Fiori which supplied a source of eligible men for the village. New recruits were quickly snapped up by the local girls.
I asked Tina what happened to all the shops and businesses as there are very few left. She said it was a combination of things. Before the war families had lots of children. Tina told me that the school she attended wasn’t big enough to hold all the children and some of them were sent to a nearby building for their lessons. The school building is still there, but is now empty and in need of serious renovation. It would make a great apartment building.
During the 1950s and 1960s there were fewer babies born. Most families had only 1 or 2. This coupled with young people slowly moving away to find better paid work than was offered in the few factories in the area, meant that the population slowly declined and the businesses couldn’t survive.
Tina remembers that there was still a horse and carriage to take people to the station and to make deliveries when she was young. One of the first cars to appear after the war was a Fiat Cinquecento, which must have caused a bit of excitement.
Foreigners, like us, are now moving into the area and buying the empty houses and apartments. While this may not be the perfect solution, I think is better than having the village die. It is good to see the houses lived in and gardens growing again. Our little piazza is constantly full with locals and people from all over the world. We have English, Australian, Norwegian, Brazilian, Finnish, American, Dutch and lots of other nationalities chattering to each other in the bar and I think it is great. It is still an authentic Italian village and I don’t think any of the foreigners want to change anything.
I would love to have seen Ponte a Serraglio in its heyday, it must have been a lively, fun place. I think it is delightful now and buying our apartment near the bridge has been a wonderful thing, allowing us to spend several months a year in the village.
If you see Tina at Bar Italia, say hello. She often sits with a group of lovely Ponte ladies.
The photo below was taken in early 2018. The next one is an earlier photo.
In summer, the beautiful swimming pools open in La Villa, the main village in Bagni di Lucca. The water is crystal clear and the views from the swimming area are stunning.
It is a great place to be on a hot, sunny day.
It costs €6.50 to enter the pool and you will need a bathing cap. (prices may change, this is what I was quoted the day I went)
There is a covered pool in winter with warm water from the springs, just what you need on a cold winter day.
The pool is behind La Villa on the way to Villa Ada at the end of Via Evangelina Whipple and is open from 9.00 am until 7.00pm.
Check details by phoning 334 2171150
The entrance fee is now €8. After 3.30pm it is €6.50
While I was enjoying myself at the archery competition in La Villa another important event was taking place high above Benabbio. Morena from the Borgo Artisti went along and took some photos for us.
There was a Castello by Lupo Lupari on the original site of the village of Benabbio, above where the village now stands. The ruins of the castle are still there.
The small church beside the Castello has been restored and people gathered to inaugurate the building.
It was a hot day and it is a long walk up that hill. A lucky few got a ride up.
Some managed the walk.
Everyone moved into the restored church.
There were photo boards of the restoration process.
It took a lot of work to bring the church back to life.
San Michele Arcangelo.
The stone floor is original.
The architect who supervised the restoration and the local historian spoke, then it was time for the priest to bless the church.
It was hot in there.
Soon it was time for everyone to be outside for refreshments.
People of all ages were there to celebrate.
Finding a spot in the shade was a good idea.
Man’s best friend is always welcome.
There is a cemetery beside the church and in 2007 – 2011 students from the university of Pisa began excavating the graves. Victims of a cholera epidemic were hastily buried and 26 skeletons have been found so far. Work will begin again soon.
Next time you are in Benabbio, take a walk up the hill to the restored church…try it on a cool day.
Thank you Morena for giving me the details of this occasion and for taking lots of photos for us.
On Sunday 17 th June the annual Palio Della Balestra was held in La Villa. The archery competition took place in the grounds of the beautiful Villa Ada, up the hill behind the village of La Villa.
It is a good excuse for people to dress up in gorgeous medieval costumes and shoot arrows at targets…..or just watch other people shoot arrows at targets. Lots of fun was had by all.
One of the handsome young knights had trouble doing his hair given that he was wearing rather large gloves. Fortunately one of his mates helped out.
That is much easier to fit under a helmet.
There were some serious archers.
Arrows were checked and removed from the targets.
Scores were discussed.
There were flowers to be presented to winners.
There was a display of medieval food preparation.
There were weapons to be discussed.
Meanwhile there was a little market in La Villa.
After the first round of the competition the participants were joined by drummers and other musicians for a parade into town.
The drummers were excellent.
Look at this gorgeous young drummer.
Actually they were all gorgeous.
There were also bagpipes.
Here is a last look at the handsome young knight.
Then it was time for lunch before the next round of competition……but by then it was hot and I went home.
When you visit and town or village make sure you check with the information centre to see what festivals are on….you wouldn’t want to miss one.
Thank you to Ilario (see comments below) for letting me know that Bagni di Lucca’s crossbow team is the champion team in Italy. I told you there were some serious archers there.
Click here to see the 2013 event.
Valter is the barber in Ponte a Serraglio, but he is so much more. Every day there is a line of gentlemen sitting in his chairs, but I’m not sure they are waiting for a shave or a haircut. I think they are there to discuss and solve the problems of the world.
Jim regularly visits Valter when he is in Ponte a Serraglio for a haircut and some manscaping.
If you are a gentleman in need of a trim, call in to see Valter, he does a great job, and you might just solve some serious issues.
I’m sure some of these chaps have been lining up at Valter’s for years….long may it continue.
PS. It is with regret that I have report that Valter has retired and it seems nobody was prepared to take over his shop, so there is no longer a barber in Ponte a Serraglio.
