Walking Through Lucca’s History

In Italian, the verb rievocare means to recall, commemorate, or evoke.   Lucca is, for the most part, a Medieval city.  That history can be recalled easily in the current street plan, Medieval towers, and the many churches from that era that can be found throughout town.  To “rievocare” that Medieval history is easy. 

There are of course vestiges of earlier eras, the outline of a Roman amphitheater, remnants of the Roman wall, and some remarkable Roman ruins lying under churches and houses.  The later Renaissance history can also be spotted, most clearly in the walls that surround the historic city center.   But when it comes to celebrating historical events, it is usually the Medieval period that is recreated through costumes, processions, music, and competitions.

How would one even go about planning an event that would recall the broader scope of Lucca’s history?  From before the Roman era and through the period at the end of World War II?   Well, fortunately, someone decided to do just that, and in late May a festival took place – Rievocando Lucca, A Festival of History.

A call to arms for Roman soldiers

 The event took place on the city walls, a perfect way to present, in chronological order, a series of vignettes tracing Lucca’s history from pre-Roman/Etruscan times through the city’s liberation at the end of WWII.  Each stop along the walls featured costumed actors, period specific crafts and weapons, and representations of daily life during the time period.  The actors were a wealth of information, explaining the displays, answering questions, and demonstrating the use of tools and weapons.

 Some highlights:

The Roman Legionaires made camp along one section of the wall and they were fierce!  Dressed for battle, armed, and bearing shields, they made an impressive sight during the commander’s morning call to arms.  Marching through town one evening, they caused quite a stir with their chants and battle cries. 

 In the Medieval village, a candlemaker described the process and coloring agents used in making her candles. Nearby, a woodcarver demonstrated his skills.   The Medieval costumes were beautiful too.

Piazza Napoleone and the Ducal Palace, both created by Elisa Bonaparte.

 Napoleon also left a mark on Lucca’s history – gifting the city to his sister Elisa who ruled as the Princess of Lucca and Piombino in the early years of the 1800’s.  Her influence can still be seen in Lucca -  the largest piazza is the Piazza Napoleone and it sits in front of the Palazzo Ducale, the palace Elisa Bonaparte built.

 For the Rievocando festival, a Napoleonic camp was filled with French soldiers in their colorful uniforms.   Alongside were a group of French ladies taking tea, as they might have done once upon a time in the Palazzo Ducale.

 The final vignette was of WWII, during a time when American and Brazilian troops played an important role in and around Lucca.  It was American Buffalo soldiers who entered Lucca in September 1944, ending the occupation by Nazi forces.   

 Also fun was walking around town and seeing the many costumed participants having lunch or strolling the walls.  The weekend event provided little glimpses of Lucca as it once was. 

Suddenly Summer

Just an interesting display down a shady street, outside of an antique shop

The Italian expression all’improvviso means “suddenly”.  To say improvvisamente estate means suddenly summer, and that perfectly describes the change in weather over the last week.  It seems we went from cool and often rainy days requiring jackets and scarves, to sun and heat, dresses and sandals almost overnight. 

Over the years I’ve learned to cope with the Italian summer heat and humidity (coming from the desert of New Mexico, the humidity is still a struggle for me). The key to schedule errands and walks in the mornings, social gatherings in the evenings, and middays at home with fans and the “pinguino” (portable AC unit) running. Truth be told, the pinguino isn’t very effective in cooling my apartment due to the really high ceilings, but if I sit right in front of it, it helps. 

So does the Italian habit of closing the shutters and curtains in the mornings, especially on the east facing windows, to keep the house cooler.  I’ll sacrifice light for coolness every time.

The cafes around Piazza Napoleone are shady and the piazza is full of activity.

It also helps to walk on the most shaded streets, dashing quickly through the open and sunny piazzas where the difference is temperature is considerable. Restaurants with shaded patios, cafes with tasty iced coffee, and places with good indoor AC are invaluable on hot summer days. 

None of this is to complain though.  The sky is bright blue, the trees are green, flowers bloom throughout town, outdoor musicians provide the soundtrack, and special events and festivals (like the ceramics market this past weekend) are a weekly occurrence.

Piazza Napoleone offers both shade and liquid refreshment

Tuscany is wonderful at this time of year.  Not to mention that an Aperol Spritz, sipped on a shady piazza, has a remarkable ability to cool me down and make me sigh with contentment.

I am enjoyed morning walks, whether up on the walls or through town. I continue to be delighted by interesting details spotted while having a coffee or when turning down a small street, by small details that I may not have noticed before, by gardens that I haven’t visited since last summer, and by the general day-to-day scenes of life in Lucca. 

May June be delightful wherever we find ourselves!

This tucked away garden is a favorite, and very quiet, spot in Lucca. It’s a great place to listen to birds singing.

Monks and Apricots

The Ortofrutta (green grocery) in Lucca is full of apricots right now.  Colorful and sweet, they’ve been perfect in my morning yoghurt or eaten out of hand. Not only are they delicious, but seeing them has reminded me of an experience I had last fall when visiting Göttweig Abbey near the town of Krems in Austria - monks and apricots!

Göttweig Abbey

The Abbey, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in 1580 and again in 1718, each time following a fire, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Still a working monastery, the grounds and public areas are well worth a visit. 

The large monastery complex includes several areas open to the public, including the park like grounds and a museum with a stunning Baroque staircase and beautiful interiors. 

The church, parts of which date back the earliest construction of the abbey, has a dusty pink exterior, twin bell towers, and an ornate interior filled with beautiful frescoes. 

Below the church is a crypt which contains one of the abbey’s most important artifacts - a shrine containing the relics of the abbey’s founder, Bishop Altmann.

The abbey is surrounded by forest, vines, and orchards. It is especially gorgeous in fall.

 Göttweig Abbey sits on a hill above vineyards, orchards, and forest.  Run by a small group of Benedictine monks, today it is known for its vines, which provide the grapes used to produce the abbey’s wines, and for its apricots which are used to make apricot liqueurs, jams, and nectars – all available for purchase in the gift shop. 

I visited Göttweig Abbey on an excursion offered as part of a Viking Danube River cruise which included the opportunity to learn to make (and of course, to taste) the famous Marillenknödel or Apricot Dumpling that is one of the abbey’s specialties. 

After a tour of the grounds, museum, and church we were offered a taste of apricot nectar and apricot wine – and then if was off to the restaurant for a dumpling lesson from the pastry chef.

 The apricots used in the dumplings are grown in the abbey’s orchard. Harvested when ripe, the pit is removed and replaced with a sugar cube. Next, they are frozen to be used for future dumpling making year round.  In season they can also be used fresh.

The pastry chef had all of the ingredients ready and demonstrated the process of making the dough, wrapping the apricots, boiling them, and preparing the sweetened bread crumb topping. After the demo we each had a cup of coffee and a dumpling. Delicious, and not too sweet, they were wonderful.

A copy of the recipe was given to each of us and I think the monks won’t mind me sharing!

To make the dumplings, a dough is made from 1 cup farmer’s cheese (a substitute would be ½ ricotta and ½ Greek yoghurt – both full fat),  1 cup flour, 2 Tablespoons semolina flour, 1 egg, 3 ½ tablespoons butter, and a pinch of salt.  Mixed and chilled in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

The dumplings were served in a puddle of apricot jam - delicious !

Pieces of the dough are used to wrap around each apricot, forming a round dumpling.  The dumplings are then dropped gently in boiling lightly salted water.  When they float, they are ready (15-20 minutes).  

While the dumplings cook, a topping is made from 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar, and 3 tablespoons butter.  Mix and toast in a pan until golden and then add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.   Roll the boiled dumplings in the crumbs and serve while warm.  Toppings can vary – ours were served in pool of thin apricot jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  They can also be drizzled with honey, topped with vanilla sauce, whipped cream, or even ice cream. 

Learning to make them was fun – tasting them was even better.   I’ve yet to try making them at home, but will all the ripe apricots in the Italian markets right now I just might give it a try!

Rothko in Florence

As if the beauty, pageantry, history, art, and architecture that is Florence every single day were not enough, the city also frequently hosts special art exhibits. There are many exhibit venues in Florence; one of the best is the Palazzo Strozzi.  Built around 1500, the palazzo is a stunning example of Renaissance architecture.  The building is a wonder, especially its central courtyard with its columns and arches, open to the windows and loggia of the upper floors.  After centuries of ownership by the Strozzi family, today the palazzo is the property of the city of Florence.  The courtyard often hosts small art installations, with the major exhibits displayed on the floor above, the piano nobile.

This month, and through August 23, the Strozzi is host to a presentation of works by Mark Rothko, one of modern art’s most well known painters.   The exhibit, curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, spans Rothko’s career and includes works gathered from both private collections and museums from around the globe.

Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz in what is now Latvia, emigrated as a child, arriving in the US with his family in 1913.  His art career began in New York in the 1920s and over the course of his lifetime was shaped by many influences – surrealism, impressionism, war, religion, Greek mythology, spirituality, Italian classical art (especially that of Fra Angelico and Michelangelo), and his own, sometimes turbulent, life. 

 I was not familiar with Rothko’s early works which include portraits, city scenes, watercolors, and drawings.  I was drawn to them in a different way than to his later works. Above: Untitled (Woman in Subway, 1938; Untitled (Cityscape) 1936, and Room in Karnak, 1946)

I have a friend who, when visiting a gallery or museum, often asks “If you could take home one piece, which one would it be?”. For me, it would be the one below, an untitled watercolor, ink, and graphite piece from 1945.

This piece seems to dance across the paper; it is the one I would take home and be enchanted by every day.

As with many artists, Rothko’s style evolved over time. His later works are quite different from his early pieces.  The one constant seems to be his use of color as a form of expression.

It is his abstract art, known as Multiforms, which began in the late 1940’s, that was a later step in his evolution and which produced the works for which he is best known.  These are large pieces which feature dramatic blocks of color. Gone are the people, buildings, or indeed any figures at all. Below from left to right are works from 1951 (#12), 1953 (untitled), and another from 1953 (#2). Interestingly, Rothko did not name his paintings, leaving each person viewing the work to have his own reaction, without the influence of a name.

In the 1950’s and 60’s Rothko worked on several commissions, including a series of murals for a chapel in Texas (named the Rothko Chapel after the artist’s death). He also painted the Seagram Murals, a series originally intended for a restaurant in New York’s Seagram building.   Realizing that a restaurant was not the appropriate setting for his work, he instead donated several of the pieces to London’s Tate museum.  Sadly, they arrived on the same day that Rothko took his own life. None are included in the Strozzi exhibit as they are a permanent exhibit in the Tate Museum and only displayed as a group. Some sketches for them can be seen in the Laurentian Library as part of the exhibit in Florence. There are also some additional small works in Museum of San Marco, a link to Rothko’s appreciation of Fra Angelico.

Below are pieces from 1955, 1958, 1964, about the same time as the Seagram works.

The chronological presentation of Rothko’s paintings at the Strozzi allow the observer to follow Rothko’s evolution as an artist, being drawn in to what seems to be an increasingly dark mood as his colors change from bright yellows, vibrant greens and blues, to more somber dark reds and browns and finally to gray and black.  The two below are from 1969.

Rothko a Firenze is a well curated exhibit, with detailed information in both Italian and English, and a must see for those with an interest in modern art.  The gift shop has posters and cards with many of the paintings as well as books about the artist.

Castello di Duino

If I were to buy a castle in Italy, the Castello di Duino would do very nicely.  Unfortunately, the current owner, Prince Carlo Alessandro della Torre e Tasso, Duke of Castel Duino, seems unlikely to sell it to me, especially at a price I could afford.  Yet, after visiting, it is easy to daydream about living in this castle with its beautiful interior and views of the coastline over the Gulf of Trieste. 

Breakfast on one terrace and wine on another, a stroll near the lower garden with the pretty pool, gazing over to the ruins of the 11th century Castello Vecchio - yes, it would be easy to spend my days here. 

 The castle was built in the 14th century and acquired in the 19th by Prince Alexander von Thurn und Taxis and his wife Princess Marie, one branch of a German noble family.  After moving to the Italian castle, they changed their name to a more Italian form, becoming the della Torre e Tasso family.  They were great patrons of the arts and hosted both musical and literary guests, including Liszt, Strauss, Twain, and Rilke.

The castle has remained in their family, passed down from generation to generation. Today it is open as a museum, presented very much like the home it once was. 

It is possible to climb to the top of this tower to take in the view

If the exterior of the castle looks familiar to you - it might be because it was used in filming Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The approach to the castle is along a path lined with statues and with views down to both the garden area and out to the sea.

Inside the castle grounds, a courtyard leads to an imposing tower. A climb will reward you with 360 degree views.

The castle’s interior is elegant, detailed, and beautifully furnished. 

There is a wood paneled library and several drawing rooms one of which has a piano that Liszt once played.

The dining room, with a table set as if guests were expected any minute, was especially lovely. It was so easy to imagine the fascinating guests that once gathered here. I can just imagine the sound of their conversations and clinking wine glasses; perhaps stepping out onto the balcony for a smoke, the views, and a whispered conversation.

Another fascinating detail was the elegant spiral staircase which connects several floors. Designed by Palladio, with pretty bannisters and gorgeous light fixtures, it is functional art.

The visit to Duino, arranged by the Piccola Università language school in Trieste, was a highlight of my visit to this region. Oh to time travel and visit in past centuries.

The ruins of the 11th century castle