Springtime Music in Lucca

Music is an integral part of life in Lucca.   The musical heritage here is rich and spans centuries.  Buskers frequently entertain passersby with everything from classic Italian songs on an accordion to street-side opera or folk music under an ancient loggia.  

Local musicians perform at cafes and bars, up on the walls, and in the piazzas.  It’s hard to beat a spring evening spent sipping a spritz while listening to music in a medieval square.

 Crowds flock to Lucca each summer for Lucca Summer Fest – a contemporary music festival with a wide variety of Italian and international performers. 

This year Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Kiss, Pat Methany, and Lil Nas X are among the scheduled acts (quite a diverse group!).  Several years back, the Rolling Stones headlined, performing on the green space just outside Lucca’s ancient walls.  That was fun!

But my favorite musical events in Lucca involve classical composers, some of whom were born here. 

Generations of the Puccini family called Lucca home, including 4 generations of sacred music composers, all of whom served as Maestro di Cappella (choir master) at the Cathedral of San Martino. 

Puccini statue in Piazza Cittadella, Lucca. His childhood home is in the background.

The 5th generation saw the Puccini we all know best - Giacomo, born in Lucca in 1858 – shift the family musical focus to opera.

His family home is now a museum. A large bronze statue of “il Maestro”, cigarette in hand and looking rather rakish, sits in Piazza Cittadella near the museum shop. 

Puccini is revered here, so much so that a selection of his arias are performed every evening in the church of San Giovanni. 

Statue of Luigi Boccherini in Lucca

Puccini was not the only famous composer to come from Lucca.  Luigi Boccherini was born here in 1743.  He was a cellist and an early composer of music for string quartets. 

Today, the Boccherini Institute is a place where young musicians train and perform.  Just a few steps from my apartment, the sounds of musical practice coming from the building grace my morning walk most days. 

Perhaps not as well known outside of Italy as Puccini, his cello concertos are incredibly beautiful.  When I want to relax, Boccherini is on my playlist.

To celebrate its classical musical heritage, each spring the city hosts the Lucca Classica Music Festival. 

During the event, musical performances are held throughout the historic center of town – in gardens, underneath the ancient walls, in churches, theaters, and piazzas. 

Performers come from around the world and include choruses, string quartets, orchestras, youth groups, guitarists and even brass bands!

The works of Puccini and Boccherini are well represented during the festival, along with other opera and classical music composers, jazz works, world music, and some distinctly modern pieces. 

 It’s impossible to attend all the performances and difficult to choose among them.  During this year’s festival, when I found a performance that promised Latin music in the spectacular setting of the Garden of Palazzo Pfanner, I knew I had to attend. 

The garden at Palazzo Pfanner - a wonderful, casual setting for a classical music performance during the Lucca Classical Music Festival..

The music was by Quartetto Lunae, a string quartet playing in magical harmony.  They played pieces from Cuba, Mexico, and South America, everything from a Piazzolla tango to Besame Mucho and La Bamba.  Listening to the beautiful notes, surrounded by quiet birdsong and garden roses, was incredibly moving.

Quartetto Lunae

 A fun counterpoint was the performance by the Filarmonica Giacomo Puccini di Nozzano.  This large brass band assembled in Palazzo Napoleone, Lucca’s largest piazza.  From there they marched across town, stopping in a series of piazzas to play for the gathered crowds.  Add in some baton twirlers and it was quite a lively event!

 This year’s Lucca Classica ended on May 1st.   I can hardly wait to see what next year’s festival brings!

This concert goer found the perfect seat - watching the concert from inside the limonaia at Palazzo Pfanner!

April Holidays in Lucca

An Easter window display

In 2023, the month of April has more Italian national holidays than any other month this year. 

That’s in part because the two Easter holidays fall in April – Easter (Pasqua) on April 9th and Easter Monday (Pasquetta) on the 10th - both national holidays. 

 And then, on April 25th, Liberation Day marks the end of World War II in Italy. The role of both the Allied soldiers (including the American Buffalo Soldiers who liberated Lucca) and the Italian Partigiani (the Partisans who fought against the Nazi forces and the Fascist government) is remembered with brass bands, speeches, and the laying of a wreath at the war memorial. (photos below courtesy of A. Cummins)

Here in Lucca those 3 big holidays are not the end of the April celebrations as Lucca adds two additional local events. The first is another Liberation Day, always the Sunday after Easter. It marks the liberation of Lucca from the control of Pisa back in the year 1369.   It’s always a favorite event full of medieval costumes, drums, flags, and pageantry.  It may not be a national holiday, but it’s a big deal here in Lucca.

 The second holiday is the Feast of Santa Zita, one of Lucca’s patron saints.  Santa Zita, whose remains rest in a glass coffin in the church of San Frediano, is known for her great piety and several miracles.  In the best-known miracle she was confronted when taking some leftover food from the house in which she was a servant and giving it to the poor and hungry of Lucca.  The food was smuggled out in her apron.  When the head of the household demanded to see what was in her apron, she opened it and out tumbled not food but flowers.  A miracle!  To this day Santa Zita is celebrated with flowers each April 27th.   (For a more detailed description of Santa Zita and the miracle of the flowers, follow this link to a previous blog post https://www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2019/4/17/the-miracle-of-the-flowers).

Each April 27th there is a special mass in San Frediano, the church where she worshipped, where her coffin is surrounded by flowers, candles, and robed guards.  The scent of the flowers fill the church.  Pass by, drop a coin in the basket, touch the casket (that must be good luck, right?) and collect a prayer card.  It is a ritual unique to Lucca. Outside of the church, a beautiful island of flowers is created for the week of her celebration. This makes Piazza San Frediano the perfect place to sit for a morning coffee while enjoying the view and the mild April weather.

 Also in honor of Santa Zita, in the nearby Piazza Anfiteatro, a colorful flower and plant market fills the square.  Locals come to buy plants for the garden – roses, azaleas, hydrangeas, annual flowers, herbs, citrus trees, tiny cactus plants, and bulbs.  The displays are a kaleidoscope of color. 

 My favorite displays are the small vignettes created – a pretty pot of flowers on an old chair, lanterns and baskets surrounded by flowers, antique demijohns in a garden setting.  The Santa Zita flower displays are a highlight of spring and one more reason to plan an April visit to Lucca.

Appreciating April in Lucca

 Apprezzare is an Italian verb meaning “to appreciate”. That word that has defined much of my time in Italy.  I appreciate the Italian culture, the beauty of this land, the musical language (even if my mastery of it is still a long way off), the people.  Not a day goes by that I am not aware of how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to live in Lucca and travel in Italy.

 But a more specific form of appreciation is on my mind this week.  After dodging the Covid virus for the last 3 years, it finally caught me this month.  Following nearly two weeks in isolation, with some unpleasant but not scary symptoms, and multiple tampone (swabs), I finally received the all-clear to resume my normal activities.  Those two weeks were tough but brought many reminders of reasons to be thankful.  I appreciate that I didn’t get sick back when Covid was ravaging this country.  Back when there were no tests, no vaccines, no treatments, only fear.  I have a renewed appreciation for the science that gave us vaccines and the boosters which I firmly believe kept me from serious, much worse symptoms. 

I appreciate the friendly local pharmacist who administered my swabs and helped me interpret the most current rules for Covid isolation.  That the pharmacy is full of old-world Italian charm makes sitting for those nasal swabs much easier.   I am beyond grateful for a good support system here and the many friends who kept in touch and surprised me with everything from soup to cheese to decadent pastries and Easter chocolates.  I have never enjoyed finding goodies on my doorstep so much!

And how I appreciate being able to enjoy these last days of April in Italy.  Lucca has awakened after its winter rest and is buzzing with activity.  The wisteria are in bloom, the ancient walls are dotted with wild flowers, and trees are sprouting green leaves.  The photinia bushes outside my window are resplendent in rusty red spring leaves.  Days are getting longer and warmer.  Cafes and restaurants are setting out tables, umbrellas, and buckets of flowers.  The simple joy of an aperitivo out of doors is even better after a couple weeks of confinement. The walls surrounding the historic center of Lucca are filled with people on foot and on bicycle. Ordinary days feel extraordinary in springtime.

 And the spring celebrations have begun.  I may have spent Easter indoors but was free the following Sunday to see the Liberation Day pageantry.  That event, which celebrates the long ago (14th century) liberation of Lucca from control by Pisa, filled Lucca with the sound of drums.  Trumpets, played by persons in Medieval costumes, heralded the arrival of flag throwers and men carrying crossbows.  There were bow shooting competitions, flag throwing demonstrations, and a wonderful, costumed procession.  I certainly appreciate that I was recovered and able to enjoy the fun.

 Coming up next is an event I look forward to every year – the flower festival in honor of one of Lucca’s favorite saints – Santa Zita.  I will appreciate every minute !

Almost Spring in Lucca 2023

Much as we may wish it, it is not quite spring here in Lucca.

 Europe has not yet “sprung forward” to daylight saving time (not until March 26th).  That means we don’t have the extended evening daylight hours that have already arrived in the United States, so evening still comes relatively early.  But the days are getting longer and sunset is now around 6:30 pm - perfect for evening walks along Lucca’s walls to watch the sky turn colors as the sun sets.  

6 pm in Lucca, March 2023

Mornings and evenings are still quite chilly, requiring jackets and scarves.  This is Italy after all, and we wouldn’t want to risk a colpo d’aria – that hit of cold air that would surely make us ill!  Best to keep that scarf on for now.

 But, despite some windy and chilly mornings, the last few days have brought us tantalizingly close to spring.   Not quite winter, not quite spring, the days are now spring-ish.  Is there is an Italian equivalent to the ending “ish”?  If so, I have not yet found it.  Quasi = almost, cerca = near, both are close but not quite the same as “ish”.    The word primaverile perhaps comes closest but is still not quite descriptive of this spring-ish season.

Early blooms in the Orto Botanico, Lucca’s Botanic Garden

 The early afternoon warm sun brings people out to sit on Lucca’s wall, turning faces to the sun.

It means it is time to shrug off the jacket and enjoy lunch outside on a piazza. 

 It means the beginning of “spritz season” when an afternoon drink changes from a wintery red wine to a sunny orange-colored aperol spritz.

It means trees and wildflowers starting to bloom in gardens and along the walls of Lucca.

It means fat asparagus and slender agretti showing up in the markets.  Inspiration for lighter dishes!

 It also means that the Magnolia tree planted by my neighbors has just erupted into flower, giving me a wonderful view from the window above my desk.  Grazie mille new neighbors!

I am looking forward to warmer weather, spring flowers, sun on my face, outdoor fun, longer days, April visitors, Easter, and hopefully tulips in bloom when I visit Amsterdam later this month.  

But right now, I am just happy to enjoy a spring-ish day in Lucca.

The view from my window. Thanks to my new neighbors for this lovely Magnolia tree!

Late Winter in Lucca

Hard rain outside my window kept me inside with a good book!

As February turns into March, winter is making a last stand here in Tuscany.   Some areas, especially up in the hills, have seen snow this week. 

Here in Lucca there has been no snow, just gray, cloudy skies and rain ranging from a drizzle to a hard downpour. The temperatures have been made even more chilly by the wind.  It is definitely still winter coat, hat, and scarf weather.  Not exactly the early spring weather I had hoped to find on my return to Lucca after several weeks away.

But, no complaints.  I am happy to be back in Lucca no matter the weather.  In fact, I rather like Lucca in the rain. 

The gloomy days have been perfect for staying inside, reading, sipping tea, and doing some baking.  Well, at least it was perfect until the night I turned my dishwasher on, forgetting that I also had my space heater going.  Poof – out went the power.  Picture a night without lights or heat, too late to poke around the cantina (basement) trying to find the big electric panel with the main breaker for my apartment.  Fortunately, I had a good flashlight and lots of candles.  Since the gas stove was still working, I was able to boil water to fill a hot water bottle, a fine way to keep warm through a cold night. All was sorted out the next morning when the sun came up and a neighbor showed me where to find the main electric panel down in the cantina.  Lessons learned!

Rainy, chilly, and nearly deserted - a small street in Lucca during late February.

Some of the things I enjoy about Lucca during the late winter:  

The city is very quiet. Few tourists visit, the streets are nearly empty (especially in bad weather).  Lucca seems to slow down.  It feels peaceful and restorative.

The bare trees surrounding Piazza Napoleone have a dramatic beauty, so different than in summer when they burst into green leafiness.  

In late February and early March they are less exuberant, but just as beautiful.

Piazza Napoleone on a rainy afternoon. No carousel rides today!

The earliest blossoms along the wall, late February.

Early signs of spring evolve daily as tender shoots of bulbs spring up, tulips and daffodils appear in the weekly flower market, mimosas erupt in yellow color, and magnolias go from bud to bloom.

The days are getting longer, reminding me that dusk hour walks on Lucca’s wall are one of my favorite things to do.

Dusk along Lucca’s walls

The rain makes puddles in the streets.

The puddles reflect the ancient buildings and the cloudy skies, temporary art thanks to Mother Nature. And kids, like children everywhere, delight in splashing through the puddles.

Magnolia blossoms sparkle with drops of rain.

Magnolias, just starting to flower, look lovely glistening with rain drops

A rainy afternoon in Lucca is the perfect excuse to pop into an elegant café for a pot of tea and a sweet treat.  Caffè Santa Zita is just the place! A bit of luxury to brighten a gray day.

February skies can be quite dramatic!

The clouds make for ever changing skies, one minute blue with gentle white clouds and then suddenly dark, fast moving and threatening.

The sound of rain lulling me to sleep, either as the best reason for an afternoon nap or a gentle entry into sleep late at night.

All of these things make late winter a wonderful time to be in Tuscany.  And yet, a few weeks from now I will feel just as inspired by the onset of spring. Living through the cycle of seasons is one of the reasons I wanted to live in Italy.  I came thinking that once (or maybe twice) around the sun would be a wonderful esperience.  4+ years later I am still pinching myself and enjoying the changing season as winter slowly creeps into spring.