Lunch at Al Barchetto

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Not far from Bagni di Lucca on the road to Gallicano, Al Barchetto is a great place to have lunch. I have passed it many times and finally made my way there on a lovely autumn day.

The restaurant is set beside a fishing lake.

The interior is bright and cheerful, and the service is much the same.

We ordered the workman’s lunch for €10 and it was excellent.

The restaurant has a tradition of home style cooking and quality service. Their hand made tordelli has been mentioned a few times by those in the know, so I am going to order that next time. We saw some very delicious looking meals being delivered all around us…maybe a few visits are necessary.

The summer outdoor setting had just closed when we were there. In summer it would be wonderful to sit by the lake.

Al Barchetto. Via Magenta 71

0583 75773

The edge of Tuscany

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Not far from Bagni di Lucca, there is a road through the mountains called Passo delle Radici. It is part of the border between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. It is a place of many signs.

It was a cold autumn day when we drove through the beautiful mountains. There was a distinct difference between the Modena side and the Lucca side.

Here is what greeted us from the road looking towards Emilia Romagna.

This was on the Tuscany side of the mountains.

In between is the tiny town of San Pellegrino.

There is a wonderful olld church there with 2 pilgrims in an elaborate glass case. Click here to see an earlier post about them.

The views from the edge of town are spectacular and the drive up there is excellent. It is about 1 hour from Bagni di Lucca, taking things slowly to enjoy the view.

It’s cold out there!

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Today we had our first real taste of winter. The temperature stayed around 6 degrees for most of the day and it rained…a perfect day for a drive in the mountains.

There has been snow on Prato Fiorito, making it look gorgeous.

As we climbed higher towards Montefegatesi the snow was falling quite heavily.

Montefegatesi looks great at any time, but a dusting of snow makes it look even better.

We went for a short walk around the village. The temperature up there was zero.

There are storms all around us again tonight. Perhaps there will be even more snow tomorrow.

Click here and here for more on Montefegatesi.

Ponte delle Catene, Fornoli

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The beautiful Ponte delle Catene in Fornoli was commissioned by the Duke of Lucca, Charles Louis de Bourbon, to replace an earlier bridge (built in the 1300s) which was washed away in a flood in 1836.

The chain suspension bridge crosses the Lima River from Fornoli to the little piazza in Chifenti. It is now a pedestrian bridge.

Architect Lorenzo Nottolini was sent to England to study suspension bridges there. The bridge was begun in 1844 and completed in 1860, making it one of the first suspension bridges in Italy.

The road section of the bridge was destroyed in WWII and was rebuilt in 1950.

It looks very majestic, especially in the early evening light.

The views from the bridge are spectacular.

…looking up river towards Ponte a Serraglio.

…looking down river towards Borgo a Mozzano.

To see another wonderful Lorenzo Nottolini structure click here.

While you are there admiring the bridge, call in for a coffee at Cafe Catene and say hello to Paolo.

Our first snowfall

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The weather has turned cold and there is a fierce wind blowing through the mountains. There have been some dramatic skies and we thought we could see a light dusting of snow on the distant mountains.

As we got closer we could clearly see snow on the top of the mountains.

I think it is beautiful. Perhaps it will snow again tonight. It seems cold enough.

Once upon a time…

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

It is wonderful to look at old photos of Bagni di Lucca. I finally bought a copy of the book of old Bagni di Lucca postcards.

The book was put together by the Fondazione Michel de Montaigne. Most of the photos and illustrations are of Ponte a Serraglio and La Villa, but there are some of the other villages as well. Many of the scenes are recognisable and is fun to see the way things used to look.

This one is my favourite. Australia gets a mention.

This is just a small selection of postcards from the book and I took photos of the postcards, which is why they might look a bit wonky. You really need to buy the book to see the postcards at their best.

The book is €25 and all proceeds go to the renovation of the English cemetery. I bought my copy at the library in the English church in La Villa.

I missed the launch of the book earlier this year. Francis was there and you can read all about it at From London to Longoio.

Floating on the Lima River

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The weather has been a bit ordinary for the last few days. It is raining and cool…to be expected at this time of the year.

Autumn leaves are floating down the river, along with our resident ducks.

Despite the weather canoeists were out on the river too.

The little weir at Ponte a Serraglio is the end of the line for canoeists. There wasn’t much water flowing over it on Sunday but they all made it safely.

There is always something interesting happening on the river.

Go to www.bagnidiluccaavventura.it to find out about adventure activities in Bagni di Lucca.

A damp chestnut festival at Villa Fiori

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

The annual chestnut festival took place today, Sunday, at the lovely park beside Villa Fiori in Ponte a Serraglio.

The weather could have been better, but an enthusiastic crowd gathered to sample the roasted chestnuts, necci, castagnata and spiced wine.

Children decorated pumpkins under the excellent supervision of Morena from Borgo deli Artisti.

Lovely Rodolfa from Montefegatesi demonstrated spinning for us.

There was some delightful guitar music to help us enjoy the day.

Unfortunately rain stopped the celebrations a bit short…better luck next year.

Wild weather

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

We have had some very wild weather in Bagni di Lucca and the mountains around us. On Sunday night there was an enormous storm which dumped heavy rain on the area. Roads have been closed, and some are still closed. There has been damage to property and some villages remain cut off from main roads.

There was another smaller storm last night, but I haven’t heard of any further damage. The sun has appeared today. With a bit of luck it will stick around for a while.

Here are a few pictures of the muddy river in Ponte a Serraglio.

The river looked a bit more calm today. It is still high, but it is not rushing past so quickly.

The road to Lucca is cut past Borgo a Mozzano. Until yesterday it was cut from Chifenti as water had flooded the road to Ponte a Maddalena. It was open today so I went to the bridge to take a look at the river from there.

You can see how high the river is in the following photo. It is right at the top of the weir.

I walked to the top of the bridge. Two days ago there was a metre of water covering the road below and in the shops and houses beside the road.

If you go to YouTube and look for Serchio in Piena there are several videos of the damaging floods.

I hope the people who have suffered damage get back to normal soon.

A chestnut festival… with mushrooms

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

We recently attended the chestnut festival in Castelnuovo. It was a beautiful day and we were the first on the bus to take us from the town to the fortified area above the town where chestnuts were being roasted and crowds were beginning to gather.

We were eager to try the roasted chestnuts and the fritelle made from both regular flour and chestnut flour. A little bonus was the warm spiced wine that came with them.

Inside the main building was a display of local mushrooms, separated into edible, edible, but they taste awful and dangerous…don’t ever eat!

Here are some of the edible ones.

These may not hurt you, but they won’t be delicious.

Don’t pick and eat anything from the next group.

It was a great display. I would never be brave enough to gather mushrooms myself. I would only go with an expert, but it was really interesting to see the collection which had been put together with much care.

There was a sculpture display as well. This one left me feeling a bit twisted.

Don’t miss these local festivals. Each one is different and lot of fun.

Bella Bagni di Lucca

A beautiful village in Tuscany

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