Looking across the Lima valley from Lugliano.
Thursday photo
2
Tag Archives: Tuscany
Wednesday photo
The lights come on at Ponte a Serraglio.
Tuesday photo
Same view, late afternoon.
Autumn in the park
Parco Contessa Casalini in La Villa is looking beautiful in the soft autumn light.
It was badly damaged in a recent storm, but is recovering nicely.
Autumn arrives
Cool weather and misty mornings and golden light have arrived in Bagni di Lucca.
Autumn is a beautiful season. I love the cool mornings and evenings. Soon the leaves will fall.
Dead man lying down
Il uomo morto, the dead man, is a cluster of mountains that, when viewed from a certain angle, looks like a man lying down.
The day I took the photo was a bit hazy, but you can see why the mountains got their name. I was in Pieve Fosciana in Garfagnana when I took the photo.
A weekend of fun
The festival Paese de Balocchi (I call it the Pinocchio festival) was a great success. The weather was perfect and people came out in droves to enjoy the entertainment on offer.
The umbrella installation in Via Umberto provided an extra level of colour.
The many stalls offered lots of things to buy.
The old fashioned games kept the children, and parents, busy.
There was a wonderful girl band making their way up and down the street, led by the marvellous Roberto Lucchesi.
A dinosaur, with rider, was a big hit.
Face painting is always popular.
There was a jumping castle, people in costume, balloons and more.
Well done to the organisers. The festival gets better each year.
Pinocchio returns
This weekend is the time for the annual Pinocchio festival in La Villa.
It promises to be a lot of fun…don’t miss it.
A little tower
Opposite the Villa Fiori car park in Ponte a Serraglio is a little tower hidden in the trees.
It needs a little love and attention, like many things around here.
Does anyone know anything about the tower?
A wooden horse
The wooden horse and rider in the museum at San Cassiano is not just any horse. The sculpture has been attributed to Jacopo della Quercia. He was an early Renaissance artist from Querciagrossa, near Siena. He became a resident of Lucca when his family moved there.
He was in the contest to design the Doors of Paradise at the Baptistery in Florence, but lost out to Ghiberto. One of his most famous works is the exquisite sarcophagus of Ilaria in the cathedral in Lucca.
On a recent trip to San Cassiano I was delighted to find the museum open. It is housed in the Oratory opposite the church.
Up close the wooden carving is beautiful. In 1909 it was found in a state of considerable neglect. It was restored in the 1920s and again in the early 1990s.
The sculpture is made up of 3 elements of linden wood. 2 elements make up most of the horse, while the bust of the saint is carved from a single block of wood.
Behind the horse are 2 other carvings. Both are carved from a single block of poplar wood, with the exception of some parts of the hands and the head. On the left of the altar is Archangel Gabriel and on the right The Virgin of the Annunciation.
The church was open on the day I visited as well.
The interior is stunning. It looks ancient.
The floor has been worn down by centuries of feet.
The villages of Bagni di Lucca are a treasure trove for those who go looking.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 