Little Lucca

Lucca's Piazza dell'Anfiteatro is built upon the ruins of a Roman amphitheater.

This is our second trip to Lucca.  We were here a few years ago for a couple of days and have fond memories of it being a town that was easy to explore, easy to relax in, easy to take long leisurely walks in, and easy to enjoy.  You'll note we've used the word "easy" several times.  As we move from April to May, Italy is becoming crowded.  Walking around we hear French, Italian, German, Japanese, and many other languages we can't identify.  Italy is a very popular destination and that presents its own set of challenges in addition to those of mere travel.  Now, instead of just figuring out how to get from point A to B, we have to do it in throngs of people who are as confused and enthralled as we are!  We're loving it, but returning to Lucca and its easy familiarity is a nice respite.  

Rick Steves says that Lucca has no one monumental sight to attract tourists and he's right. It's more of an immersion into a small and lively Italian town with roots stretching back to Roman times. 

The ramparts are a perfect place for a walk or a bike ride.

One of our favorite activities here is walking the 2.5 mile wall that encircles the city. There are actually remnants of three walls - the first Roman wall, the second medieval wall, and the third Renaissance wall. Each wall replaced the other as the need for ever stronger fortifications grew.  The final, third wall, is a 100 foot wide mound designed to withstand cannonballs.  The Lucchesi devoted one third of their incomes for over 100 years to building these ramparts.  It is said that the best defense in a good offense, well in this case it is true - no one ever tried to attack little Lucca with its great big walls.

There are six "portas" for entrance through the walls into the old city.

Views from the wall include a peek into the grounds of the beautiful Plazzo Pfanner.

There are spectacular buildings in the old city and then
there are those that are awaiting renewal

One of the great things about Lucca is that the vehicle access
in the old town is limited so we can walk around
looking at everything without fear of being run over by a Vespa!

A sampling of the doors we came across in Lucca.
Everything from the lovely entrance to our hotel
to the far less welcoming.

Plazza San Michele and the Church of San Michele 

Notice all of the details on the facade of San Michele.

One of the alters in the church and a painting detail.
We suspect this marble work on the floor marks the cover to a crypt.

While the Church of San Michele dominates the main plazza
the tucked away Church of San Frediano is our favorite.

Close up of the mosiac of Christ and his 12 apostles adorning the facade of San Frediano.
In the sunlight, the golden background glows.

Baptismal font, alter and ceiling details.

Della Robbia ceramic work inside of San Frediano.

We discovered Vini Liquori Vanni on our first trip to Lucca.
It's a tiny shop at ground level, but its cellar area goes on and on and on.

The caves hold everything from the old and dusty
to the expensive collectors bottles.

The Dying Town

The Umbrian hill town of Civita de Bagnoregio

Civita de Bagnoregio was a thriving Etruscan community about 2500 years ago.  Situated on the top of a tufa stone bluff over looking the Tiber River Valley, it must have seemed to the Etruscans like the perfect perch from which to watch the world go by.  Now it's called "the dying town" because its population has dwindled to somewhere between 12 and 100 residents, depending upon the time of year.  

The tufa stone (compressed volcanic ash) easily erodes.

So what happened? An earthquake in the 17th century frightened residents so badly that all but a few abandoned the little town. Those that stayed watched as relentless erosion slowly ate away at the land bridge that provided their connection to the rest of the world.  The walls and buildings steadily crumbled away and only the hardiest stayed.    

It's an irony that the isolation which kept Civita from changing much over the centuries is today what draws the tourists. It is the tourists, and the dollars they bring in, which may be what ultimately saves the dying town. 

Before the new walking bridge was constructed the only way into town
was by traversing a narrow ridge top trail.

A steep and dramatic entrance to the town.

The main piazza of Civita hasn't changed much over the centuries.

On the piazza is the heart of all Italian towns...the church.

The church's outside facade may be simple but they made up for it with their alter.

The town's few residents have made it very charming.

It may be known as the dying town but...

signs of life are abundant.

Areas dug in beneath the homes were probably
once used to house animals,

Civita gives new meaning to the saying "living life on the edge".

Some of the structural support under the buildings pictured directly above.

The harsh landscape of the Tiber River Valley surrounding Civita.

Arezzo and Antiques

Arezzo's Antique Market

The Fiera Antiquaria is Tuscany's largest antique fair.  Started in 1968 by a collector named Ivan Bruschi, the fair takes place the first weekend of each month in which there is a Sunday. Not necessarily the first weekend...the first one with a Sunday.  With 400-500 vendors participating, it's easy to spend an entire day wandering around the streets of Arezzo looking at antique (and not so antique) treasures against the backdrop of ancient buildings. Here we take you for a walk through the market where it's a toss up as to what is more interesting - the antiques for sale or the people selling and shopping for them. 

The setting for the market may be older than any of the items for sale.

          

The market covers a very large area and shoppers do get hungry.

We loved the gnomes but were more curious about the woman buying them.

So many things to see...so little room in our suitcases.

These would never make it home in one piece but they were lovely to look at.

Thought this was really fun - especially the RCA logo
which we haven't seen in years. 

Against a backdrop of family crests installed over the centuries
there is a Foosball table for sale!

Anyone doing a reno here in Tuscany should shop this marketplace.

A little something for the young and the young at heart.

We wondered what was on this vendor's mind.

Old books, maps and postcards were a big draw.

Ancient Arezzo couldn't be a more perfect setting for the antique market.

Red Poppies

Fields of wildflowers cover Tuscany.  

The poppies are our favorites.

The Vino Strada

Tuscany in spring is every bit as beautiful as it is said to be.

The autostrada is the major highway system in Italy.  It is a toll road that runs the length of the country and can be quite expensive to use - about a Euro for every ten minutes on the road.  Well, we've discovered that the free Vino Strada can be just as costly but for another reason.

The Vino Strada in the Tuscany and Umbria regions of Italy is a route that meanders about the countryside from village to village highlighting the areas where beautiful vineyards and wineries can be found.  Now you understand why the Vino Strata turns out to be a much more expensive route than the Autostrata!  

Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's most prized and expensive wines, and the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are both produced in this area under strict quality and vineyard location requirements.  For instance, Brunello di Montalcino must be in the barrel for four years and spend another year in the bottle before it can be released for sale. The extra cellar time makes the wine as smooth and rich as butter and almost as expensive as foie gras!

Both wines derive their names from the hill towns of their origin. Spectacular Montalcino and Montepulciano sit high upon steep hills with commanding views of the vineyards and valleys surrounding them.  We felt like we were earning our little tastes of wine as we walked up and down those hills and flights of stairs leading to ancient cellars.  Our thighs may have been burning but our taste buds were enjoying a little bit of heaven on earth.

Montalcino's streets may be very steep but the views are worth the climb.

Montepulciano's underground wine cellars contain
the largest wooden barrels we've ever seen.

An old wine press and underground well made us think about
the labor involved in making wine before modern day
machinery and plumbing became available.

A street fair was in progress when we arrived in Montepulciano.

Wine tasting may be the draw but these little villages
are postcard perfect and well worth spending time exploring.

The Medici family crest is an ever present reminder of their
role in Italy's past.  Here it is in Montepulciano...

and here it is in Montalcino's Piazza del Popolo.

Cafes, restaurants and enotecas (wine bars) make up most of Montalcino's old town.

Montalcino's enotecas provide wine tastings, which lead to
sales, which lead to ordering wine, which lead to shipping wine...

In the valleys surrounding Montalcino and Montepulciano
the vineyard vines are just beginning to leaf.  

The wine isn't the only thing that's heavenly.