Fattoria di Fubbiano - A Winery with Tuscan Views

June 11, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Tuscany, Lucca, Italy travel, Walking, Italy, Travel, Wine, Cooking

If you close your eyes and picture the perfect Tuscan landscape, what comes to mind will likely look a lot like the area surrounding the Fattoria di Fubbiano. If your picture includes rolling hills, tall cedars, ancient farmsteads, vineyards, olive groves, and a small hill town in the distance, then you have it just right.

The direct translation of the Italian word fattoria is farm - but direct translations don't always capture the essence of a word. A fattoria can be anyplace involved in agriculture - from the classic farm with rows of vegetables and barnyard animals to a terraced hillside where grapes and olives are grown. The Fattoria di Fubbiano is the latter - 130 some acres of vineyards and olive groves tucked into the hills 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Lucca just below the hilltop town of San Gennaro.

A fattoria has existed in this spot for a long time - the property dates to the late 1600s. Local tax records list an even earlier date for the first cultivation of vines and olive trees here. Ownership of the fattoria has changed hands many times, with the current owners purchasing the antique property in 2002. They have since restored the fattoria buildings and original villa, converted some buildings into guest quarters and tended the gardens and view terraces.

The biggest project was the construction of a new and very modern cantina. This is where the harvested grapes arrive and where the Fubbiano wines are produced and bottled. The original cantina, a beautiful building with arching brick ceilings, now serves as an events space.

Several wines are produced at Fattoria di Fubbiano, including three reds, two whites, and a Vin Santo. All are DOC-certified (which assures place of origin as being from the Lucchese hills, as well as variety of grape and quality). Also produced is a rosé (labeled Schiller, the name of the family that owns the fattoria) and a super Tuscan (labeled I Pampini and a personal favorite). Along with these excellent wines, the grapes are used to produce grappa and a wine vinegar. The wines are well respected locally and internationally. Thirty percent of the produced wines are exported to the United States.

My visit to the Fattoria di Fubbiano was to tour the grounds and winery and then to participate in a cooking class in the old cantina building. The winery tour was informative and interesting (even if it was hard not to be distracted by the amazing views of the surrounding vineyards and hillsides). The cooking class, offered as an afternoon cultural excursion by Lucca Italian School, was a delight. Together we prepared an appetizer of fried zucchini flowers with a filling of ricotta, basil, and pecorino cheese, a handmade-filled pasta (Tordelli Lucchese), a fragrant roasted pork, and a classic local dessert (Zuppa Lucchese).

After the meal prep was complete, our group of about 20 shared an aperitivo of Fubbiano wines and the crisp, melt-in-your-mouth zucchini flowers out on a wisteria-covered terrace overlooking a stunning Tuscan landscape. Sitting on that terrace in the soft light of a spring evening, sipping wine, and talking to the interesting people who come to Lucca to study Italian, was a special kind of wonderful.

Eventually we went back inside to eat the meal we had prepared. We dressed our salads with olive oil and vinegar from the fattoria, and had some of the white and red Fubbiano wines to accompany our dinner. Everyone agreed that all of the work to prepare the meal was well worth the effort, producing a delicious cena (dinner). Cooking classes are always a highlight of my time in Lucca and when combined with the setting of this characteristic Tuscan fattoria, they are especially wonderful. -post by JMB

A cooking class in the old cantina, Fattoria di Fubbiano

Contact information:

Fattoria di Fubbiano 55010 San Gennaro, Lucca, Italy. Website: Fattoria di Fubbiano.it

Lucca Italian School. Via dei Bacchettoni, 25 55100 Lucca, Italy Website: luccaitalianschool.com

This marble piece is titled Plenitud. It is on display in Piazza San Michele with the basilica rising up behind it.

Modern Sculpture in a Medieval Tuscan Town

May 28, 2018 by Judy Giannnettino in Italian art architecture, Tuscany, Italy, Lucca

The marble quarried in the Italian town of Carrara has inspired artists for centuries and been used to create some of the most well-known buildings and sculptures in Italy. Michelangelo’s David in Florence and the Pantheon in Rome are just two examples. More recent work by the Costa Rican artist Jorge Jiménez Deredia, who also studied and sculpted near Carrara, is on display around Lucca this summer. This type of temporary art exhibit is common here, gracing the squares and areas along the old city walls. The effect is that Lucca is an evolving art gallery of pieces that can be viewed, and touched, simply by wandering through the town. There is something unique and special about art in public squares, accessible to all, without the boundaries of museum walls.

This piece, on display in the remains of a Roman amphitheater, is from the series Genesis.

The Deredia exhibit, with its rounded and spherical figures in black or white, juxtaposed against buildings constructed six or seven centuries earlier, makes for a most interesting walk through town.

Deredia was born in Costa Rica in 1954. He moved to Italy 22 years later and started working in marble and bronze. His work has been displayed around the world and he has created permanent pieces for public spaces in Europe, Asia, the United States and Latin America during his career. He was honored by the Academy of Design Arts in Florence with the Academic Correspondant of the Class of Sculpture award - the same award given to Michelangelo, Titian, and Tintoretto.

In Lucca, three of his massive sculptures are displayed prominently in Piazza San Michele against the backdrop of San Michele in Foro, the basilica built over the ancient Roman Forum. Others are placed in piazzas around town and at Porta San Pietro. Deredia’s work will be in Lucca until September 10 of this year. Don’t miss it if you’re in Tuscany! It's a chance to see this amazing artist's work in what is essentially an open-air museum.

-post by JG

Signs of Spring in Lucca

April 30, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Italian gardens, Italy travel, Tuscany, Italy, Lucca

Tiny yellow buttercups grow along the wall in Lucca, beautiful against a view of distant hills.

I’ve been waiting, not very patiently, for spring to arrive in Lucca.

Winter and early spring were unusually cold and rainy this year and the little hints of spring that showed up in early April were fleeting - the tease of just one warm day followed by several days of clouds, rain, and cool temperatures. The trees along the wall remained stubbornly bare, lemon trees remained in the limonaia, and vines were stark without even a hint of new growth.

I began to doubt that the sun would ever come to stay, that trees would sprout leaves, or that flowers would bloom. Flora (the Italian goddess of flowers and spring) seemed to have deserted me.

Today, I can happily say that the wait is over. Temperatures have soared during the past few days, changing from hat and glove weather to short sleeve and sandals weather in a flash. As I write this in late April, temperatures have hit the low 80s, not one day of rain is in the forecast all week, and i fiori (the flowers) have arrived. Sono contenta! (I'm happy!)

The trees along le mura (the city walls) are now green with leaves, tiny yellow buttercups bloom along the walls, and the sycamores in Piazza Grande (also called Piazza Napoleone) provide a beautiful green canopy around the square and the now-busy carousel.

This week I visited my favorite garden (on the grounds of Palazzo Pfanner) and found that the lemon and orange trees had been moved out from their winter home in the limonaia and were full of fruit. Showy peonies were blooming as was a magnolia tree and several bushes. Can roses and hydrangeas be far behind? How I hope they bloom before I head home to the U.S. in a few weeks.

The most dramatic and lovely proof that spring has truly arrived comes in the form of the glicine (wisteria) that have bloomed throughout Lucca. They spill over walls and terraces and across arbors with their soft colors and long flower heads. For me, it isn’t spring until the wisteria bloom.

I noticed the first wisteria blossoms along the wall that encircles the historic city. I then spent an afternoon wandering through town to the spots where I remembered the most stunning displays of wisteria from past years. While a few had not yet bloomed, several of my favorites, in Piazza Parigi and Piazza Antelminelli (pictured below), were just as beautiful as I recalled.

Italy in spring, Italy in flower - Bellissima! -post by JMB

Italy at Easter

April 01, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Lucca, Italy, Italy travel, Italian culture, Travel

Several years ago I learned an Italian saying, "Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi." This roughly translates to “Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you like." I take this idea seriously. I wouldn't dream of missing Christmas with my children and grandchildren, but whenever possible I spend Easter in Italy, sharing the holiday with friends.

This year marks my third Italian Easter; one of my favorite times to visit. I love marking the change of seasons in Italy, watching as Tuscany slowly moves from winter to spring. When I arrived at the beginning of March, Lucca had quiet streets, bare trees and vines, and brisk weather (including my first Italian snowfall).

March remained mostly cold and rainy, but slowly, over the past week, spring has started to tiptoe in. On one of the first warmer days outdoor seating suddenly spilled into the squares from cafes.

Overnight, the atmosphere in town changed. People filled the streets and cafes, beautifully decorated Easter window displays appeared, outdoor vendors set up stands to sell sweets and balloons, the walls surrounding Lucca began to buzz with activity, and the first tentative spring blossoms surfaced. It seems Lucca has awakened from its winter rest.

The last week of March was Holy Week - the week leading up to Easter. It began with Palm Sunday events, including the blessing of palms and olive branches and services in many of the local churches. Venerdì Santo (Good Friday) saw the traditional procession in Lucca in which a heavy wooden crucifix is carried through the streets by black-robed and barefoot members of the Misericordia. This is a solemn event made even more dramatic by the backdrop of Lucca’s Medieval streetscapes. I always find the procession moving, meaningful, and uniquely Italian.

Good Friday was also celebrated with an evening concert at the Cattedrale di San Michele in which a small symphony played the Stabat Mater, with lyrics (in Latin) from the 13th century and music composed by Boccherini (who was born in Lucca in 1743). The church was full, the soprano sang beautifully, and the music was (no pun intended) divine.

Today is Easter. I’ll walk through town this morning to a favorite pasticceria to pick up a desert for today’s lunch (perhaps a pretty cake like the one pictured here) and then I’ll get busy cooking for the friends who are coming for lunch this afternoon. We'll be enjoying “Pasqua con chi vuoi."

Buona Pasqua. Happy Easter to all who celebrate it - and happy Passover and Happy Spring too!

-post by JMB

Walking in the Italian Rain

March 05, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Italian culture, Italy, Italy travel, Lucca, Travel

The first time I came to Italy for an extended vacation, it rained nearly every day for four weeks. It was April and unseasonably cold and wet that year - and yet I loved it. I quickly learned to always carry an umbrella, to duck into a bar for a coffee when a sudden rain hit, to eat meals indoors during the hardest rains, and to take advantage of every break in the storm to be out and about. I often walked in the rain and enjoyed seeing the city reflected in puddles. Maybe it's because I live most of the year in a place that gets little moisture, but I seemed to thrive on the wet weather that year in Italy.

A group of tourists out and about despite the rain.

I've never had quite such a long rainy spell on my return visits. April is usually beautiful, cool to warm with only scattered showers. Last year's spring brought a perfect mix of warm and sunny days along with cooler days with a little rain. Only a few times did the rain last for even a half day. There was one morning though that was cloudy with several hours of steady rain - making it the perfect time for a walk through Lucca, ombrello (umbrella) in hand, enjoying the wet weather.

Rainy days bring out lots of color as umbrellas brighten the dark skies.

Bicycles, a common form of transportation, don't stop for the rain.

And the flower market continues under ombrellones (big umbrellas). — And the flower market continues under *ombrellones* (big umbrellas).

Italians look stylish, even in raingear.

Eventually the rain stopped, the skies turned blue, and the sun came out. I enjoyed the sun, but I'll look forward to the next rainy day, perhaps this month when I return to spend an Italian spring in Lucca. -post by JB