San Bartolomeo…a beautiful old church

Our lovely friend Agostino took us for a drive to Cune, a gorgeous village above Borgo a Mozzano, just a few kilometres from Bagni di Lucca.

We drove through olive trees and grapevines and then through wonderful chestnut forests on our way past Cune and up the hill to the Chiesa and Romitorio di San Bartolomeo. It was a misty, rainy day, which made the drive even more beautiful.

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We parked the car beside the road and walked a small distance to the collection of ancient buildings.

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The stone buildings are well preserved and the area is well tended. The church was begun in the 12th century and completed in the 12th or 13th century with the addition of an apse.

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This doorway is tiny.

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There is an old oven in one of the buildings.

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…and some interesting old stones.

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Mushrooms are growing well near the buildings. The first one was enormous and seemed to be growing from the side of a building. The others were a normal size.

Further up the mountain are the remains of an old signal tower, called “The eye of Lucca”. It was an early warning system for the area. On a fine day we will investigate.

On the way home we had an excellent view of the Ponte Maddalena from above.

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There is a never ending supply of fascinating things to discover in the Bagni di Lucca area.

Thank you Agostino for a great day.

Pinocchio fun in Bagni di Lucca

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La Villa came alive over the weekend with people gathering to have fun at the Pinocchio festival. Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio’s creator took his name from Collodi, the birthplace of his mother. The village is not far from Bagni di Lucca and the character is very popular in the area.

Morena sent me some photos of the celebrations.

Morena and Mariangela did a great job with the children, helping them with their beautiful paintings.

I was lucky to be in the village last year for the celebrations. Click here to see the fun.

Thank you Morena for sharing the weekend with us.

Bagni di Lucca Arts Festival comes to an end

The first Bagni di Lucca Arts Festival is drawing to a close. It has been a very successful event and is a credit to the organisers.

I haven’t been around Ponte a Serraglio for the festival, but I have been able to keep up with the activities through the efforts of friends who have sent photos.

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For an excellent roundup of the festival please go to Michael and Shona’s Blog. They have been involved from the beginning to the almost end and can fill you in on some of the details.

Click on livingtuscany.wordpress.com

I’m sure plans are already underway for next year.

Il Biribisso in Granaiola

Il Biribisso in Granaiola has an outdoor barbecue in summer…an excellent reason to go there. There is a lovely outdoor terrace, the perfect place to sit on a warm summer night.

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The outdoor barbecue was not operating the night we were there, but we enjoyed our mixed grill just the same.

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They also serve great pasta.

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Fried seafood.

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Our desserts were delicious.

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The restaurant is great in all seasons, so even though summer is almost over Biribisso is an excellent place to eat.

I can’t resist the views of Ponte a Serraglio and other Bagni di Lucca villages from Granaiola.

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As we were leaving the restaurant the moon peeped out from behind a cloud for us.

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Il Biribisso, Piazza Nicola Dorati (opposite the car park)
0583 831081

Guest post by Kerry

Kerry and Jim are from Western Australia. They decided to spend 6 months in Italy and chose Bagni di Lucca as their base. 3 months into their stay Kerry has generously written a post for Bella Bagni di Lucca to tell of their experiences in this gorgeous part of Italy.

Our 6 months in Bagni di Lucca…by Kerry.

We hit the jackpot when we chose the area of Bagni di Lucca to spend our six months “living the dream” retirement holiday. We arrived on 1st June and are staying until 30th November. I know it seems a long time but there is so much to do and see in the area that time is getting away from us.

Our apartment at Villa Isabella in Ponte a Serraglio is wonderful and the perfect place to base ourselves to not only relax and try to become a little bit “Italian” but also a great location to explore Tuscany from.

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The village is built along either side of the Lima River, making it a very tranquil place to spend time in.

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It is in easy walking distance to La Villa, the main village of  Bagni di Lucca,making it accessible to additional shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, although we have some very good choices here in the village.

We chose to come to Ponte a Serraglio after some lengthy communications with Debra, who I must say has been very generous with her assistance, time and knowledge of the Italian system for those wanting to stay for more than 3 months. Getting our Permesso di Soggiorno would have been very difficult without Debra.

About 25 villages make up the region of Bagni di Lucca. We have visited many of them now and each seems to have its own delightful character.

We have done many day trips, including to the Garfagnana, Chianti and the coastal villages of Forte dei Marmi and Sestri Levante and there is still so much to do and see.

There are many beautfiful cities to visit when you are here, the closest being the historic walled city of Lucca. It is only 25 kilometres away and is such a lovely city to spend time in. At every turn there is something to discover…beautiful cathedrals, nightly concerts of Puccini’s music (Lucca is his birth place), great shops, very nice food and, of course, gelaterias at every corner.

Florence and Pisa are both must sees by travellers visiting the area and are just over an hour away.

If you have a “bucket list” of places to visit in Italy we would definitely recommend adding Bagni di Lucca to it.

Follow our travels at Jim and Kerry Travel Diaries.

Thank you Kerry for sharing your Bagni di Lucca with us. Perhaps at the end of your stay you will write another post for Bella Bagni di Lucca.

Under the Linden trees

In summer the beautiful Linden trees form tunnels on the roads into Bagni di Lucca. Linden trees are called Tiglio in Italy and as well as providing welcome shade in summer the perfume from the tiny yellow flowers fills the air with the delightful smell of summer.

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Bees love the flowers and delicious Tiglio honey can be found in local shops.20130821-060325.jpg

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Be careful not to park you car under one of the trees. A sticky sap falls from them and is quite difficult to remove…admire them from a distance.

Gorgeous Granaiola

On one of our rare sunny spring days I visited Granaiola to walk through the village and enjoy the spectacular views of Ponte a Serraglio and several other villages that make up Bagni di Lucca from the high vantage point.

Granaiola is a short drive from Ponte a Serraglio. The car park is at the top of the village…come for a walk with me through the narrow streets.

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There is a fine selection of green doors.

I found a couple of renovators’ delights for you.

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There is always a cat or two.

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I ran into the delightful Stefano who lives alone in Granaiola since his beloved wife died three years ago. The photo I took didn’t turn out well, but here is one I took a couple of years ago at a celebration in Bagni di Lucca when he was wearing his spectacular Bersaglieri hat.

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His companion is the lovely Stellina. I’m sure Stellina is a very pampered cat.

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…now the views from Granaiola. You can see Lugliano on a mountain top nearby.

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…and Colle below.

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There are wonderful views of Ponte a Serraglio on either side of the Lima River.

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Pieve di Monti di Villa and Monti di Villa are higher up.

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Riolo is the village on the lower right.

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The blue sky was amazing!

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The Lazzi bus going to Monti di Villa will take you to Granaiola. They leave La Villa a couple of times a day. If you are reasonably fit you can walk to Granaiola from Ponte a Serraglio. It is much easier coming down.

Click here to see the previous post on Granaiola.