Snow - in Italian it’s called la neve or, when snow is turning to rain, nevischio. The verb is nevicare, to snow. On a recent snowy morning (una mattina nevosa) it snowed on and off, occasionally big fat flakes, then turning to almost rain, and then back again to snow. From my terrace I watched the snow fall and looked out over red rooftops dusted with snow under cold, gray, and snowy skies.

Just the week before I wrote in the blog post “Winter” that we were still waiting for this season’s first snow in Lucca (it is not all that common here), so I was delighted to have a snowy day soon after.  Time to bundle up and go out for a walk! There were few people up on the walls but those of us who ventured out were treated to foggy vistas and fine falling snow. Magic!

It was not quite cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground, and the snowfall was quite wet, so there was no real accumulation. That was unlike the big snow of March 1, 2018, which blanketed Lucca in snow.

March 1 happened to be the day I arrived in Lucca last year, getting here in the early evening after a train delay due to ice on the tracks and the big snowstorm.

I didn’t get photos of that snow in Lucca, so I asked the very vibrant ex-pat community here if they would share some of their photos with me. 

The gorgeous photos just above and the shots that follow come from those generous people who have moved from somewhere else to make Lucca their home. I think their photos tell the story of Lucca in the snow beautifully (and without need for further words from me).  Thanks to David Priest, Dee Schaffer, Shirley Olson, and Jessica Di Costanzo for sharing their photos.  - post, and other photos, by JMB