Bagni di Lucca Art Festival 2014

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

The very first Bagni di Lucca Art Festival was held with great success in 2013. Ponte a Serraglio came alive with art exhibitions, performances and parties throughout the summer.

Jaqueline and Jake and their team of volutneers are to be congratulated. With a miniscule budget and a lot of hard work they produced something wonderful.

Old shops in Ponte a Serrraglio were renovated and filled with exciting exhibitions and activities. People came out to enjoy opening celebrations and be part of the first festival. The little piazza was full of artists, performers and fun.

A particular favourite of mine was the installation in the river, called Fragile Community by Sandro Del Pistoia.

Plans are well underway for the 2014 event. This year Jaqueline and Jake are hoping to encourage even more participation in the form of sponsorship (please) and people with ideas and the courage and energy to bring their ideas into fruition.

If you can help in any way…if you think you have a great idea for the festival and have the time to help make it happen…please come forward and let the organisers know.

This year’s event will be shorter and more concentrated and will hopefully spread to other villages in Bagni di Lucca. Jaqueline and Jake would like to include more ideas and people in 2014.

The Bagni di Lucca Art Festival has the potential to be a significant art event which will be excellent for the future of the town. A thriving art community in this beautiful setting would bring more people and provide more jobs for those living here.

The festival needs your help to spread the word…talk to your friends and neighbours about it…write about it on your blog or Facebook page…it would be great if the whole community of Bagni di Lucca was involved…if not as participants or helpers then as spectators.

Please email Jaqueline at artfestivalbagnidilucca@gmail.com if you have any suggestions to make a huge success of the 2014 event.

Look at artfestivalbagnidilucca.org for more information on the festival.

Click here, here, here, here, hereand here to see the posts on Bella Bagni di Lucca about the 2013 Art Festival.

A winter walk through Lugliano

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Lugliano is one of the beautiful high villages of Bagni di Lucca. I visited on a sunny winter day. Come with me for a walk through Lugliano.

The first thing you see as you arrive in Lugliano is the campanile of the church.

Here is what the church looks like from the front.

Beside the church is a very impressive sculpture.

The road from here is fairly flat for a while before it begins to rise quite steeply. Just before the rise is a set of old laundry tubs. I wonder how long it is since they have been used.

A little further on is a little chapel with a pretty ceiling.

There are always cats enjoying whatever sun is available.

I love the bare trees in winter.

Higher up in the village is another laundry area.

There are some grapevines waiting patiently for spring.

…a beautiful corner.

…an old car packed and ready to go…complete with rain protection.

From the top there is a great view back over the village.

The views across the valley are amazing.

At the end of the village is a ridge with some wonderful old buildings and planted terraces.

I hope you all visit Lugliano and take a leisurely walk to the top and back.

The village looks wonderful from below on the road out.

Click here for a different look at Lugliano in early summer.

Then and now…our house

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Debra Kolkka

Our house at Ponte a Serraglio has had a few changes since it was originally built. Here is a photo taken at the beginning of the 1900s.

The front of the building was damaged in WWII. It was originally one house, but at some stage it was divided into 2 apartments with a shop below.

Take a look at a post I wrote a while ago, where my friend Tina talks about the Ponte a Serraglio she remembers from her youth. Click here to hear Tina’s story.

This is what our house looks like now.

I am very pleased that the little balcony was added.

I would love to know the story of the faces above our doors and windows.

From our position on the bridge I can observe what happens in the piazza, and it is just a few steps to breakfast at Il Monaco for Annalisa’s great coffee and pastries…reason enough to live in Ponte a Serraglio. Click here to meet Annalisa.

Beautiful Bagni di Lucca in 2013

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

I have spent a lot of time in Bagni di Lucca this year. It is wonderful to watch the changes in the seasons throughout the year.

I arrived in January to blue skies and the water high in the Lima river.

Not long after Bagni di Lucca was covered with snow for a while. Even the lower villages were white for days.

A very wet spring didn’t stop everything turning green.

Heavy rain meant the river was often very high.

We did have some sunny days in spring.

Sunny enough for a walk beside the river.

There was late snow in May.

Summer brings flowers, bees, insects and delicious fruit.

I was back in autumn for more changes.

There was more heavy rain in October.

…and pretty autumn colours and mists.

December brought some cold mornings.

…another great year in 2013. What will 2014 bring?

Ponte panettone

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Panettone is a sweet bread prepared all over Italy for Christmas. Making the bread is a lengthy process, with the dough taking days to cure. The bread contains candied orange, citron, lemon zest and raisins.

Luckily for us, making panettone is not necessary. Annalisa makes very delicious panettone at Il Monaco in Ponte a Serraglio.

You will have to be quick, there are only so many she can make.

Cachi time

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

I love this time of the year when I can see the amazing cachi trees bare except for their bright orange fruit.

You can eat them of course. If they are perfectly ripe they are delicious.

But it seems a pity to spoil this great view.

The mechanical cow

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

I prefer my milk straight from the cow. When I was a child a local dairy farmer delivered fresh milk to us in a bucket. He poured the milk into bowl and when it had settled Mum would spoon the cream off the top and pour it into bottles.

I can still remember the taste…a far cry from the stuff we buy at the supermarket now. It is pasteurised, homogenised, skimmed, vitamins added etc, etc, and it no longer tastes like milk.

Luckily there is a place nearby where it is possible to buy milk straight from the dairy…the mechanical cow, or latteria as it is called.

The little hut is in the car park at the Penny Market in Borgo a Mozzano.

For 20 cents you can buy a bottle and €1 gets you a litre of fresh milk.

There is even a photo of the dairies the milk comes from.

I think it is a great idea and I have become a regular at the mechanical cow.

Picking olives

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Olives grow all around Bagni di Lucca on terraces in the mountains. Autumn is the time to pick olives. It would be difficult to find a more beautiful setting for an afternoon of olive picking.

When we arrived the nets were being set beneath the trees.

We were shown how to pull the olives from the branches…a bit like milking a cow.

It is good fun picking olives…but I don’t have to do it for days on end. I may change my mind if I had to do it regularly, or I had to climb the trees to get at the top branches, or set the nets.

It is much easier to pick olives while standing on the ground.

…and look at the view.

The best part of this is the delicious new olive oil. It is best when fresh. Look for the new season olive oil now in your favourite deli or market.

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

Grapevine is 20 years old

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Debra Kolkka

Grapevine magazine has been around for 20 years, helping people to find out what is happening in our area.

The first issue appeared in October 1994.

This is what was written in their first editorial.

“This is the first issue of GRAPEVINE, a monthly guide in English to what’s on in Lucca and the surrounding area. There is a lot going on in this area but finding out about it is not always easy and can depend on picking up a leaflet by chance in a hotel reception area or spotting a poster in town. Now the visitor to Lucca can find information collected together as never before.

GRAPEVINE is not just a list of events and activities. The articles reflect many different aspects of local life and news and are not limited just to items of traditional tourist interest.

We believe that a monthly of this kind, which looks at Lucca with a different eye from thatbof established local publications, will be of interest not only to people passing through this area but also to those who live here permanently.”

I have found the magazine very useful in the 10 years I have been coming to Bagni di Lucca, and still have most of the copies I have bought over the years. It is a great way to keep up with local activities.

Look out for the magazine in local newsagents and you can also sign up to read Grapevine on line.

Congratulations on the first 20 years…may there be many more.

www.luccagrapevine.com

Bella Bagni di Lucca

A beautiful village in Tuscany

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