Miriam's Moments

Tuscany and Umbria, Part I (Sept. 22-29, 2024)

Our Overseas Adventure trip began in Lucca, about one hour north of Florence, once known for its silk, now paper. We stayed in a former bordelo! My room was called "Soldino" ("small coin") & had lovely hand-painted landscape scenes on walls.

Our group of 16 enjoyed each activity and loved our tour manager Lodovico Tommassi, experienced leader from Rome, who went above and beyond the schedule, with stories, excursions and food! I tried to keep up, taking notes and not wanting to miss a thing!

Lucca, meaning "area of marshes" in Celtic: Luck, was inhabited even before the Ligurians, Etruscans, Romans (3rd century BC). In the 13th century it was an important commercial center, especially know for its silk, in Europe and the East. It is a lovely peaceful city, taken over by Napoleon at the end of the 18th century; it was never bombed.
Our hotel was around the corner from the first-built in the 6th century cathedral, and the 14th century San Giovanni baptistry, where I enjoyed 2 superb evening concerts of selections from Pucchini's operas, such as La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, Tosca.

Lucca is the birthplace of Boccherini, who was upstaged by the more famous Giacomo Puccini, last in a musical dynasty, who became very wealthy, owned the first car, and was banished for a love affair, and later built a villa outside this beautiful entirely walkable walled city. The walls were built during the early Christian era, as defense against the competing powers of Florence and Pisa, that eventually won out.

The square looking from Puccini's birthplace and childhood home.

In the baptistry basement are the remains of the early font. Usually babies were baptized at birth and re-baptized later by immersion, practiced until the 15th century. Below, is the Volto Santo (holy face), said to have been sculpted by Nicodemus in Jerusalem, set afloat in an unmanned boat which floated to shore in Tuscany, and miraculously carried to Lucca by wild oxen in 782!!

San Michele Church (on the main square) with 12th century Pisan Romanesque facade, with faces of the heroes of the hard -fought Italian independence and unification of 1860.

I climbed the 227 steps to the top of the powerful Guinigi Family Tower with oak trees (shallow roots) on top and wonderful views of the city and surrounding countryside. Sign: "Don't climb the trees"!

The neoclassical sculptures of the Canova museum, including the "Three Graces" of Antonio Canova (1757-1822) and others are sculpted from the beautiful white marble from nearby Carrara.

The Piazza dell'Antifeatro (just outside the original city) is iconic of Lucca. With the fall of Rome, the theater, which seated 10,000,was robbed of its stones and inhabited by people living in a mishmash of huts,. The huts were cleared away at the end of the 19th century to make a purely secular market square (other squares have churches) and homes for the wealthy. Today it is 9' above the original arena floor.

We took the train to spend an afternoon in nearby Pisa, which became an important port in the 7th century. For 3 centuries it became one of the most important maritime powers of the Mediterranean (over Genoa and Venice), but in 1284 began to fall. The beautiful cathedral, baptistry and tower (still leaning but shored up!)were built in the 11th and 12th centuries. Arts flourished thanks to the Pisano father and son, the University begun, and later departments of math and physics added by Galileo. In 14th -19th century Pisa was ruled by the Medici. The cathedral is magnificent, as is the baptistry, where we heard a woman sing chants echoing from the high domed ceiling with great accoustics.

The Carrara Marble Quarries are impressive! They have been producing the best hard white marble since Greek and Roman days, and continue today, centuries after Michelangelo and Bernini sculpted their masterpieces.We heard stories of the humble workers, especially Roman slaves, whose descendants still reside and work in the Quarries today. Many concessions are foreign owned (France, Russia). The U.S. and Emirates are the biggest customers. Money doesn't stay locally. Marble is used also in medicine, food, etc. Anarchists and Communists, and other movements of exploited workers developed.

We divided into 3 groups to have lunch with local families. Sonia and daughter Alison were our delightful hosts! Yummy food!

Everywhere we ate gelato and pastries. Cannoli are typical from Sicily

We spent only a half-day in Florence, cradle of the Renaissance and Humanism, visiting only the outside of magnificent buildings such as the Duomo, Piazza Signorini, the Ponte Vecchio, and less well-known spots. Florence was extremely crowded. I'm grateful to know already!

To avoid taxes winemakers sold wine from tiny wine windows!

I loved Florentine paper-making, and ate a giant focaccia sandwich

Not Roman, but a later aqueduct

A special and very moving visit to the American cemetery outside Florence, where we retired the flag. 4,000 troops of the 5th army from Rome to the Alps died or went missing at end of WWII, in 1944.

Such gorgeous rolling hills of Tuscany on our way to Villa Lucchese where we spent 3 nights in a hotel/villa next to a 13th century Jesuit church and convent. The countryside is spectacular...too many photos

Overseas Adventure Travel always includes "A Day in the Life" program. We spent the morning with Valentina and Niccola on their goat farm, played with the goats, helped make Pecorino (goat) cheese & had lunch in their old farmhouse kitchen hung with garlic, onions.

San Gimignano was only a 15 minute bus ride from our villa San Lucchese. This medieval town sits atop a hill and is known for its defense towers. Only 14 of the 72 original ones are left.

The Chianti countryside is famous for its vineyards and olive groves

After the 150 year old Pruneti olive oil business visit we drove to the 1000 year old renovated home of Mauro and Christina for a fun cooking lesson: pasta, veggies, pork, and mascarponi

That afternoon some of us chose to take a walk along the Via Francigena taken by pilgrims between Canterbury, England to Rome.

Siena has been one of my favorite cities, but I always learn new things! It was a military colony of Caesar, but after other occupiers it became a free city at the beginning of the 12th century. The consuls that governed it built the Via Francigena connecting Siena to France, which encouraged trade. Sienese built thick defense walls, and was even dominated by the Germans and Spaniards and in 1559, it came under the rule of Cosimo I de'Medici, part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1859 it was the first Tuscan town to belong to the Kingdom of Italy.

The cathedral has the typical pink, white and green lower facade of Giovanni Pisano, and has gorgeous windows, pulpit, sculptures and marble mosaic floors. The tower and most interior columns are black and white striped. A few of us climbed the nearby arch, which was originally planned as the cathedral facade, and had great views.

Perhaps most popular and iconic is the Piazza del Campo in the heart of Siena, surrounded by the three hills on which the town is built. There are 17 districts or contradas, each with its own flag, coat of arms, government, and organization that compete in July and August in a 3-laps around the plaza horse race. Horses are chosen by lottery and are baptized in contrada chapels before the race. We got a tour of the Owl contrada. Since the 1600's the Owls have won 37 times!

The Santa Caterina (born in Siena, patron saint of Italy) chapel is in the San Domenica church.

Of course we loved the food everywhere! Cheese, olives, pork, gelato, wine, caprese and bruschetta, every imaginable type of pasta with a great variety of sauces, condiments, desserts. Meals were a highlight!