Flowers, Flags, And A Historic Caffè Make For A Busy Weekend in Lucca

Celebrating Lucca’s liberation from the dreaded Pisans in the year 1369 with a Medieval procession.

The first full weekend of April was a very busy time in Lucca.  Multiple events filled the days, facilitated by warm spring weather.

The weekend activities began with Verdemura, the annual spring garden show which takes place atop Lucca’s historic walls.  

The show always has an abundance of things to plant – roses, fruit trees, bulbs, a variety of flowers, and lots of herbs – and this year was no exception.  The 2024 show included special exhibits featuring tulips of all colors, sizes, and petal types. 

Along with plants, artisans demonstrated their crafts and booths were filled with wonderful things to purchase.   Garden art, decorative home and garden items, soaps and lotions, and artwork were just some of things available.

There was no shortage of food products at the garden show.  Vendors had everything from breads, to cheeses, salumi, wines, syrups, spices, and sweets.

Passersby stopping for a glimpse of the newly reopened Caffè di Simo

The first weekend in April also saw two historic events.  The first was the reopening of Caffè di Simo.  The caffè had been shuttered for 12 years, a cause for dismay in Lucca because of its historic importance.  Originally named Caffè Caselli, it  has a long and storied history as a gathering place for artists and intellectuals.  Giacomo Puccini was a frequent patron and the reopening is for a limited time to host special events marking 100 years since his death.  The opening came with an opera performance in a nearby piazza and a chance to briefly walk through the caffè.   More events are scheduled through April and May, each with limited admission due to the small size of the caffè. I am looking forward to seeing a performance there later this month.

The last of the weekend events was the celebration of Liberation Day, marking the year 1369 and the end of Pisa’s rule over Lucca.  The people of Lucca have long memories! They mark this day each year, on the Sunday following Easter, with great pageantry.  Picture a procession with medieval costumes, ladies in flowing gowns, large banners from the various neighborhoods of Lucca’s historic center, drummers (batteriste), a zampognari (bagpipe player) and lanciatori di bandiera (flag throwers).  Then add in some fierce looking Balestrieri carrying crossbows (balestre) and longbows (archi lunghi) proceeding through Lucca’s medieval streets.  Watching the procession is to become a time traveler.

The procession eventually arrives to the Duomo (Church of San Martino) where a mass is held.   Afterwards, it is into the piazza for some speeches and performances by the musicians and flag throwers. One flag, two flags, three flags are sent spinning around and soaring into the air to be caught and tossed again.  One of the flag throwers managed 4 flags, employing both their arms and feet in the process, delighting the crowd that gathered to watch. (2 short videos are posted on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page)

 A very busy weekend and a great way to welcome April!

New Life In The Old Mercato

Lucca’s old market building, the Mercato del Carmine, began life in the 14th century as a convent for an order of nuns, the Carmelitani Scalzi (Barefoot Carmelites). The nuns left in the mid 1800’s and after that the building was used for a variety of purposes.

Once a bell tower, now a clock tower

A new use was found for the abandoned convent in the 1930’s. It was repurposed to house Lucca’s big community market which had previously been located in Piazza Anfiteatro (the site of the former Roman Amphitheater). The nun’s cloister was enclosed with a large roof to shelter the market. The campanile (bell tower) was converted into the clock tower that continues to anchor the building today. The places where nuns once lived and prayed became filled with market stalls.

The market operated until 1974 when it moved to the edge of the walled city, along Via Bacchettoni. A few years ago it moved again to a spot outside the city walls. Somehow the new spot just doesn’t have the same character as I imagine the Old Mercato had.

These little shops once housed vendors of all types - eggs, fish, salumi, chicken, vegetables, grains and spices. It has been sad to see them sit empty for so long.

An art installation in the Mercato del Carmine

For years now the Mercato building has stood largely empty with only a few shops around its exterior perimeter. The large open space inside still shows signs of its former lives as convent and market. There are large arches from the convent and spaces whose signage marks where vendors once sold fish and poultry.  It has most recently been used mostly as an “overflow” space for the vegetable shops and Bar del Sole which open onto its interior. But mostly it has been an underused space, one that really showed its age.   A second section of the building was closed off, its old arches and fresco remnants hidden from sight.

Recently funds were awarded to restore the building. Many of us hoped it would once again become a permanent market, but that seems unlikely.  Sadly, the work has displaced several of the remaining businesses around the perimeter. Gone are the butcher and the chocolate shop. The bar will soon move to a new location. What controversy this has caused! And while people are excited to see the building brought back to life, many also hold out hope that some of the long term businesses will return when the work is completed.

Slow Foods Market, March 2024

The restoration is ongoing but far enough along that recently some special events have taken place in parts of the building. In late March, Lucca hosted a food fair that flowed across town through several of the piazzas.  The largest of the exhibits was a Slow Foods event held in the old Mercato building.

What a joy to see the building filled with booth after booth of wonderful products and throngs of inspired shoppers.   Baskets of vegetables and fruits were arranged like culinary art.

Fragrant cheeses and salumi were available to sample. Bakers sold several kinds of bread - focaccia, rolls, whole grain, white, seeded. The fresh Pecorino I tasted easily found its way home with me as did some wonderful focaccia and paper thin slices prosciutto. Nothing beats a market lunch!

Several of the booths featured local wines, olive oil, or honey. There were packages of farro, tiny green lentils, and beans in all shapes and colors along with flours made from variety of grains.

The market was lively, fun, and full of shoppers. The products sold were of high quality. This gives me hope that, just maybe, more markets like this will bring new life to this old Mercato.

Easter in Lucca, 2024

Celebrating the Easter (Pasqua in Italian) holidays in Lucca always feels special to me. Easter marks the beginning of spring and Lucca in spring is filled with mild weather and fun events.  There is always a lot to look forward to and Easter is the kick-off to some of the best months to be in Italy. 

Not only that, but Easter here, along with Pasquetta the day after Easter and also a holiday, is so filled with tradition and, well, just Italian-ness, that it always gives me a renewed sense of appreciation that I get to live here. 

Plus, the holiday a great excuse to get together with friends for Easter weekend dinners, Easter morning brunch, and a long, slow dinner on Easter Sunday evening.  Easter is meant to be spent with friends!   And coming after Lent, it’s meant to involve good food and drink. Which is one reason why there is so much chocolate in shop windows here.

This street-side shrine is one of the first stops on the Via Crucis.

Easter in Italy is marked by ancient religious traditions.   And whether one is religious or not, the Easter rituals carry historic significance and always leave me a bit in awe. Each year, on Good Friday (Venerdì Santo in Italian), many cities have processions which recreate the Via Crucis, Stations of the Cross.

In Lucca this solemn procession is enacted by members of the Confraternity of the Misericordia, a volunteer civic organization.  Dressed in hooded black robes, with many participants barefoot, they walk through the historic center carrying a heavy crucifix.  The procession stops at small shrines and churches for prayers and chanting. The procession is followed by a group of local worshippers.  As they move through Lucca’s medieval streets, it is easy to imagine similar processions taking place hundreds of years ago.  Time seems to stop and only the cameras and cell phones snapping pictures give a sense of modernity. (Video on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page)

Not all Easter traditions are religious or ancient.  Part of the holiday for me involves baking Easter bread.  This is a simple sweet bread decorated with eggs, a recipe I learned from an Italian friend of my parents many years ago. It’s perfect for a simple breakfast or as an Easter gift.

I am a bit oven-challenged here, as my apartment only has a small countertop electric oven, but I managed to turn out two small loaves this year. 

Another important tradition for me is hosting an Easter meal - and brunch is my favorite meal to prepare and share with friends.  The menu for this year’s brunch was anything but traditional.  After recently discovering Beehive Bagels in Rome, and learning that they would overnight fresh New York style bagels to me in Lucca, my menu choice was set.  Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon with all the needed trimmings – red onion, capers, thinly sliced cucumbers, and some fresh chives which I happen to have growing on my windowsill, and deviled eggs.   Add to that the fruit, Prosecco, and Blood Orange juice brought by my guests and we had all the ingredients for a nice Easter morning meal.  And since it is fun to try something new for Easter, this year I made a ricotta almond torte flavored with Limoncello – a little something Italian to add to my very American style Easter brunch.

Today, the day after Easter, is still a holiday here in Italy.  Pasquetta is a day for relaxed fun.  For me that will mean coffee with a friend, a walk on the walls (probably with an umbrella), and watching spring start to bloom around Lucca.

I hope your Easter holiday was filled with friends, laughter, good food, and anticipation of spring.

Buona Pasquetta!

It’s Beginning To Look A lot Like Easter

This unique Easter Rabbit sits outside of an Art Shop in Lucca.

 Easter week weather in Italy can be hard to predict. It can be warm, sunny, and springlike, especially when the holiday falls later in April.  Or it can be dark and stormy.  I can recall times when my day-before-Easter grocery shopping took place in a torrential downpour and others when the spring-like temperatures and sunny skies made shopping for my Easter brunch a delight.

With Easter coming early this year, at the end of March, it is no surprise that the weeks leading up to the holiday were cloudy, rainy, and cool.  It just wasn’t feeling like spring. 

But, with a few days to go before Easter, all of a sudden the weather has been teasing spring.  Temperatures have been mild and a gentle breeze has made the tall flowers along the wall sway (and made allergies flare up too), a sure sign that Easter, and Spring, are just around the corner.

Chocolate chickens are a typical Easter treat in Lucca.

Shops and windows throughout Lucca are dressed up for Easter and full of colorful goodies. 

There are huge brightly wrapped Easter eggs, chocolate chickens and bunnies, and traditional Colomba (dove shaped) sweet breads on display.  Each window is different, making it fun to walk around the historic center of town and window shop. I’ve picked up some small dark chocolate Easter chickens to serve as table decorations for an Easter morning brunch.

 Also on display are beautiful ceramic dishware and decorations with Easter and Spring themes.

 And while not really an Easter decoration, I find the fresh green produce that shows up at this time of year – piselli (peas), carciofi (artichoke), agretti (saltwort or Monk’s beard), and asparagi (asparagus) - to be just as wonderful as the sweet Easter goodies.

 I am looking forward to all the Pasqua (Easter) events in Lucca, especially the moving and historic Good Friday procession. Easter Day will also bring the change to daylight savings time here (a bit later than in the US). Those longer daylight hours, along with mild April days, will be much appreciated after a rainy March.

Buona Pasqua !

The Church of San Salvatore in Lucca

A painted door in Piazza del Salvatore, Lucca

A couple of days in Lucca last week were rain free – perfect for catching up on errands.   My tasks included a stop at the lavandaria (cleaners), a quick visit to a local shop to buy a pretty pot for the chives I’ll grow on a sunny windowsill, a meet up with a friend for a coffee (there may have been a pastry involved), and a trip to the Ortofrutta to stock up on vegetables. 

 The best part of running errands here is that it never feels like a chore.  No drudgery involved.  How could there be when the errands are done on foot and all involve a walk through historic Medieval streets?  There are ancient stone buildings, centuries old decorative brick work around windows, balconies full of flowers, and beautiful old wooden doors along every route.  Add to that the sound of spoken Italian providing a soundtrack to daily life here and chores are fun.

On my errands I stopped into one of Lucca’s small and lesser known (at least to visitors; it’s a favorite of locals) churches. It was empty, silent, and unguarded. I was the only person inside, free to admire the architecture, artwork, and treasures within. To leave such a historic place, filled with valuable artifacts, so accessible would be unheard of in the US.  Here in Lucca it is not unusual at all.  

The Church of San Salvatore, also known as the Church of the Misericordia, Lucca

The church, officially the Church of San Salvatore in Mustolio, is more commonly known as the Church of the Misericordia because it is located right next to what was for many years the office of the Misericordia Ambulance Service.   

A few months ago the ambulance service moved outside of central Lucca, leaving a spot for some benches and flower pots in the space where the ambulances used to sit. The stone wall of the church is now easy to see and the historic carved lintel above the side door more visible.

This new sitting area, once filled with parked ambulances, is now a pretty place to sit facing the piazza along the side of the church.

 A church has stood here for over 1000 years**, with major renovations and modifications over time.  Some of the most important elements of the current church are the exterior lintels, one over the front right door (below, right) and one over the side door (below, left), that date from the 12th century.  Each lintel tells a story from the life of Saint Nicholas.  They are beautifully carved, in wonderful shape, and are important examples of decorative elements from that time period. 

The interior of the church has a main altar that contains a 14th century wooden crucifix.   Two smaller altars are placed along the sides of the small church. One, an ornate sculpted piece, frames a Christ with bound wrists. The other is a depiction of Our Lady of Fatima surrounded by children.

There are several paintings inside the church, including an Ascension from the year 1561 by the local artist Vezzano and another that depicts local favorite Santa Zita in the company of several saints. 

I always find the little details in a church fascinating. A memorial marker, a lantern, a holy water font, a small shrine, a simple stature, a bit of faded fresco. This are the things that capture my attention and there are plenty to see in the Church of San Salvatore.

The quiet church provides an oasis of calm.  As an added bonus, it sits within the Piazza del Salvatore with Nottolini’s famous fountain topped by the Naiade statue. What a beautiful place to stop in the midst of running errands!

** A huge thanks to The Wanderer’s Guide to Lucca by Brian Lindquist for the history of San Salvatore church.  His book, and the accompanying Wanderer’s Map, remain the most valuable English language source for information on the historic churches and buildings in Lucca.  It’s a must have for anyone living here or interested in Lucca’s history.

Can you spot Santa Zita in this painting from the year 1638 by Mannucci?