Blue Skies and a Perfect day in Sant’Andrea di Compito

The countryside around Lucca, Italy is dotted with beautiful villas and interesting small towns. One inviting place to visit is the medieval borgo (village) of Sant’Andrea di Compito which sits along a small stream and up a gentle hill, about 10 km (about 6 miles) outside of Lucca.

Sunny skies, the sound of water in the stream, and birds singing all contributed to a perfect March day in Sant’Andrea di Compito

Known as the Borgo delle Camelie, Sant’Andrea di Compito plays host each March to a festival showcasing an astounding collection of ancient camellia bushes, both the ornamental variety and the variety used for making tea. In fact, Italy’s only tea field (actually a walled garden, the Antico Chiusa Borrini) can be found here.

I visited Sant’Andrea during the annual Camellia Festival in 2018 and again in 2019 but had not returned since the lifting of pandemic restrictions. It was definitely past time for a return visit! So, along with a few friends, I set off for Sant’Andrea di Compito on a sunny spring-like morning. The village was just as charming as I remembered and the bright blue skies provided the perfect backdrop for wandering through the winding medieval streets.

Two previous blog posts tell the story of the Camellias (see links at bottom of page) so today I will use few words but lots of photos to describe this enchanting medieval village.

The streets of Sant’Andrea are lined with stone walls, rustic wood fences, lovely homes, historical towers, churches and, of course, flowers.

The walled garden of the Villa Borrini is an intimate, serene space. The Borrini family planted these Camellias nearly 200 years ago. Signage, in Italian and English, gives the name and description of each variety along with the date planted.

As if all of this floral beauty were not enough, near the entrance to town runs a small stream, crossed by a stone bridge, and tumbling down the hillside. Follow it along to the Camellietum Compitese - a virtual forest of Camellia trees. Somehow I had missed the Camellietum on my previous visits, so finding it on this visit was a delightful surprise.

The Camellietum is home to flowering Camellias in a spectrum of colors from the palest white to the deepest red and all shades in between. There are solid colors, variegated ones, even flowers that seem to have brushstrokes of color. The petal shapes vary as do the central colors and sizes. It was hard to choose a favorite, although I was most drawn to the endless shades of pink.

The large bushes meander along paths up the hillside and along the stream. There is even a market where the plants are sold (or, as their signage says, adopted).

The only problem - neither myself nor any of my friends have gardens here in Lucca, so our longing to buy some plants went unrealized. No matter, we enjoyed “shopping” for our favorite varieties and imagining that we might someday have a spot to plant them.

Gardeners and flower lovers flock to town during the Camellia Festival. For me the flowers are a bonus, a beautiful bonus, but the real star is the village itself.

For further information about the village of Sant’Andrea di Compito and the Camellia Festival:

https://www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2018/3/25/santandrea-di-compito-borgo-delle-camelie and https://www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2019/3/24/tea-and-camillias-in-tuscany

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!

February, A Month That Isn't Spring

February, just 28 days long, is the shortest month of the year. Why then does it feel so long?  So very uninspiring? It’s not that I hate winter.  I enjoy brisk winter temperatures, the chilly beauty of winter holidays, and snow dusted trees. Paris in December was cold but wonderful, a recent quick trip to Colorado with its snow covered mountain peaks was fun, and I have had some wonderful winter experiences in Italy over the years.  But come the last weeks of February I grow tired of gray skies, cold air, and wintertime. 

February in Lucca, 2019. Cold and definitely not spring.

These little blossoms are the first hints of spring along Lucca’s walls.

As I write this, I am watching snow fall in New Mexico. The clouds obscure the mountains, it’s cold and gray. Spring, and Italy, seem very far away. But it is only three days until I board a plane and head back to Italy. I am hoping that the earliest signs of spring will be present when I arrive - delicate bulbs and tiny flowers sprouting along the walls and the earliest magnolia blossoms. I am even looking forward to the colorful umbrellas that accompany spring rains.   

I will spend the next few days dreaming about soft Italian breezes, spring blooms, lengthening days, and walks on Lucca’s walls. In the meantime, these photos will remind me that Spring is just around the corner and that warmer weather and Italy await.   

Camellias in Sant’Andrea di Compito in March 2019. The annual Camellia Festival is a sure sign of Spring!

Lucca in Bloom

April was quite cool and rainy this year; it seemed that spring would never arrive. Perhaps that long wait for spring has made May, with its lengthening days and beautiful weather, even more welcome. Right now the temperatures are perfect - just warm enough mornings, sunny warm afternoons, perfectly comfortable evenings. There are soft breezes and plenty of opportunities to stop and enjoy the feel of the sun on one’s face. Cool weather clothes have been packed away (finally!) and the midday sun gives a hint of the hot summer weather that is just around the corner. This is the in-between season, and it is one of the best times of year to be in Tuscany.

These roses can be found in the large park just behind the Church of San Francesco.

The magnolia blooms are long gone, the wisteria have mostly faded, and there are no poppies inside the historic center of the city (though they are a marvel out in the countryside). But that does not mean there is a shortage of color in town because in May Lucca erupts in roses and they are glorious.

This multi-colored rose garden is up on the walls that surround the historic center of Lucca.

I wish I could add a link that would share scent, because the roses fill the air with a soft, delicate perfume. This seems especially true for the banks of pink roses just outside Porta San Pietro, the main entrance into the city. Visitors to Lucca often enter this porta on their way from the train station into the city. And what a good first impression this makes!

Fragrant pink roses at Porta San Pietro. And why is there always a truck that “photo bombs” a good picture?

It’s impossible to walk past without stopping to appreciate the various shades of pink, the wonderful scent, the buzzing bees.

Not to be outdone by the pink roses just outside Porta San Pietro, these red ones are just inside the porta.

One of my favorite rose-filled places is the rose garden in the series of three small gardens in the chiostro (cloister) beside the Church of San Francesco. With an old well in the middle of the garden, and banks of roses fanning out in all directions, this is a delightful and well tended formal garden.

What a joy it is to walk through Lucca on a warm spring day and find these beautiful blooms.

Street side roses on Corso Garibaldi

A Lucchese April

April can be a fickle month here in Lucca. After a few warm days in late March, the kind of days that almost trick you into packing away the winter sweaters, April barged in with colder days, wind, cloudy skies, and rain. The rain is much needed after a dry winter, so I won’t complain. And if the saying is true, and April showers really do bring May flowers, then Lucca should have a most colorful May.

This stand of white wisteria was an early bloomer this spring

Despite the early April chill, the days are growing longer, the first leaves have appeared on the trees, and the first blossoms throughout town hold the promise that warm spring weather will soon arrive.

Verde Mura is the perfect place to buy pots of herbs for the garden.

Perhaps the best harbinger of spring is the return, after a two year COVID-related pause, of Lucca’s spring garden festival - the Verde Mura. This wonderful event showcases all things needed to plant and tend a garden. It doesn’t matter if your garden is just a few pots on a terrace, a couple of window boxes, or a large orto (vegetable garden), the Verde Mura has what you need. The festival takes place up on the walls that surround Lucca’s centro storico (historic center) which means that the views are part of the fun.

Garden art at Verde Mura

Local gardeners pull wagons through the many booths, collecting everything from rose bushes to fruit trees to annual flowers and herbs. Need a tractor? Well, Verde Mura has just the one. Same with shovels, clay pots, bug sprays, fertilizer, seeds, and outdoor grills. In addition to these garden necessities, this is the place to find whimsical garden art, herbal products (soaps, teas, spices, syrups), fragrant spices, and a variety of crafts.

It is always fun to see traditional craftsmen at work; I especially love watching the basket weavers and broom makers.

Of course there was food (this is Italy after all). In addition to booths serving coffee and sweets there were plenty of vendors of local meats, cheeses, honey, pasta, and breads - most offering an assaggio (a taste). One booth had mounds of beautiful spring artichokes, bundles of aspargus, pretty Tropea onions and ripe strawberries from the south of Italy.

There was even the cutest little wine truck!

A break in the rain allowed for a slow morning wander through the many booths and displays of plants.

I came home with some herbs which are now happily planted in my window boxes as well as a colorful bouquet of ranunculi for my apartment.

I may have needed a warm coat, a scarf, and a hat against the chill but there was still a hint of spring in the air. I am looking forward to seeing the season unfold.