A Walk Among the Ruins

The desire to have a summer holiday home isn’t just a modern phenomenon. Oh, to have an escape - perhaps on a hill to catch a breeze or maybe with a view of water. Better still, to have a holiday home in a rural spot but near a main route between Rome and the coast of northern Italy. A retreat along the pilgrim’s trail from Canterbury to Rome.  How perfect would that be? Not just for us today, but also for a well-to-do family during the first century AD.

The Venulei family, from Pisa, built just such a summer villa on a hill overlooking Lake Massaciuccoli in Tuscany, not far from the coast. As with many Roman-era buildings, this one was lost to view until it was discovered and excavated during the 18th century. Work on the site has continued over the years and today includes a small museum in which the baths, with their well-persevered mosaic floor, can be viewed. There is also an outdoor area with remains of other parts of the villa. On my recent visit, the museum was closed, but the outdoor areas were completely accessible - no barriers to prevent exploration. What a thrill to walk freely through well-preserved ruins from so long ago.

There is some debate about the history of the site - was it just a family holiday villa, a waystation for visitors, or perhaps a part of the family’s business (the firing of bricks)?  Even with that mystery unsolved, the site is fascinating. The complex had its  own piped-in water supply (through lead pipes). The baths included  a frigidarium (cold pool) and a caldarium (heated pool and sauna room). A family had to be quite wealthy to afford these first century luxuries. 

 Surrounded by olive trees and with a panoramic view of Lake Massaciuccoli, the ruins of the villa (known today as Massaciuccoli Romana) are open to the public. Feel free to wander about, imagining life in the first century AD, and enjoying the beautiful vistas. These ruins, just above the town of Massaciuccoli, make a nice addition to a visit to the nearby wildlife preserve at Lake Massaciuccoli.             -post by JMB

The Miracle of the Flowers

 If I were ever made a saint (highly unlikely), I would wish for two things: to have Lucca as my final resting place and to be remembered each spring with beautiful flowers. Alas, that version of sainthood is already taken by someone far more deserving. But at least I get to enjoy that saint’s feast day each spring.

Flowers outside of San Frediano church to celebrate the festival of Santa Zita

Santa Zita is the patron saint of Lucca. She was born nearby, in the 13th century, to a poor but devout family. As a girl, she entered service in the home of a well-to-do Lucchese family, the Fatinellis. Unmarried, she worked for the family for 50 years until her death in 1272.

Memorial to Santa Zita on the street where the Fatinelli home once stood (Via della Fontana, Lucca)

Zita was known for her devotion and good works, especially in caring for the poor. This, however, did not always sit well with her employers or co-workers, especially because her good works often included giving away their bread, leftover food, and sometimes their clothing. It’s also said she sometimes neglected her morning bread baking duties to attend daily Mass (saintly, perhaps, but most annoying to her co-workers).

As the story goes, the other household servants were jealous of her goodness and reported her “theft” of bread to the head of the family. One day, when he asked her what she was hiding in her apron (which was, of course, the bread she was taking to the poor), she answered that it was just flowers (luckily, this little white lie did not preclude later sainthood). When he demanded to be shown, she opened her apron and out tumbled flowers - a miracle!

Santa Zita is remembered each year with a flower market in late April. This display was part of the 2019 market.

There are other miracles associated with Santa Zita, including the notion that angels staffed the Fatinelli kitchen, baking the bread while Zita went to church at nearby San Frediano.

Santa Zita flower market, 2018

Legend has it that when she died, the bells of San Frediano began ringing on their own. Zita was buried soon after and her legend quickly grew. Several hundred years after her death, her body was moved from its grave to her own chapel in the church of San Frediano (the chapel was built by a later generation of Fatinellis).  When exhumed, it was discovered that her body had not deteriorated but had spontaneously become mummified, another miracle.  In 1696 she was made a saint by the Catholic Church.

The body of Santa Zita is moved to the center of the cathedral of San Frediano during her annual celebration.

Today, her remains lie inside a glass coffin in San Frediano. Once a year, to mark the April 27  anniversary of her death, her coffin is moved to the central part of the church, where it is surrounded by flowers and candles. Small bunches of flowers are sold in the church and people hold them as they pass by her body, reverently laying their hands on the coffin. Whether religious or superstitious, it seems to me very good luck to join in, lightly touching the glass of the coffin, and wishing to be back in Lucca for the next celebration.  So far, that has always worked for me!

Flower market, 2019

As part of the Festa di Santa Zita, there are also floral displays in the piazza in front of San Frediano and a colorful flower market inside the nearby amphitheater square, making the week of April 27 a lovely time to be in Lucca.          -post by JMB

Flower market (2018) in Piazza Anfiteatro for the Festa di Santa Zita

Italian Tax Codes and Back Roads

There are many steps along the road to becoming Italian, or at least as Italian as “stranieri” (foreigners) can be. For me, one of the first “ah, now I really belong here” moments was when I received my codice fiscale, or tax code. That magic string of letters and numbers, uniquely mine, signified my existence here in Italy. Surely if one has a tax number he or she must be Italian, right?

The tax code is useful for longer term apartment rentals (technically required for rentals of more than 30 days, though not all landlords asked for mine). It’s an absolute necessity if signing an extended contract (one year or the more standard four-year contract) and for setting up bank and utility accounts. So, if planning a long stay in Italy, obtaining a codice fiscale is high on your to-do list.

One of the joys of wandering is finding views like this, as seen from Montecarlo.

There are two ways to obtain the codice fiscale. One is through the Italian consulate in your home country.  The other is to apply for one during a stay in Italy, in the area where you plan to reside.  In Lucca that means a trip to the nearby town of Guamo, about 15 minutes away by car.  I recently went with my co-blogger to Guamo to apply for her codice fiscale. It was an easy process, taking about 30 minutes tops (we arrived right as the office opened to avoid a wait). Be prepared to speak in Italiano.

A monument on the campanile of the Badia (Monastery) di San Salvatore in Vorno

Because we were in and out of the office so quickly, we decided to spend the rest of the day wandering along back roads and ending up .... well .... wherever. Our first stop was in the small village of Vorno. This is a lovely place, full of stone walls, trellises, grape vines, and well-tended villas all set amid beautiful hills and views of distant mountains. We stopped for prima colazione (breakfast Italian style, cappuccino and a sweet) and then explored on foot, ending with a stop at the local church with its interesting campanile (bell tower) and historical monument. Carlo Piaggia, intrepid explorer (his bust is pictured above), sounds like my kind of guy!

The fortezza (fortress) in Montecarlo, Italy

Where to go next?  Our trip through the back roads led us to the small town of Montecarlo, famous for wines and an ancient fortress. 

Montecarlo, Italy

The town was quiet, tourist season still a few weeks away. The uncrowded streets were fun to wander and I was most intrigued by the many interesting doors and windows. Fun to imagine who has passed by them and what lies within.

Montecarlo

What a joy to have an unstructured day to wander the back roads in this part of Tuscany! -Post by JMB

Montecarlo

Gentleman Drivers and Gourmands: A Classic Car Rally in Italy

 The Terre di Canossa is a prestigious rally for classic cars that takes place in northern Italy’s villages and mountain passes before ending at the sea. According to the event’s literature, only 100 entries are accepted for the race and all cars must be from the years 1919 through 1976.  Polished and ready to roll, the cars are gorgeous and the drivers have an air of mystery, elegance, and wealth. 

The event is named after Matilde di Canossa, an intriguing figure from the Middle Ages. A sort of warrior-queen, Matilde ruled a large swath of Italy, including what are now the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Tuscany - all from her castle in the town of Canossa. Unique for her times, she was an independent woman and a bit scandalous. She left an arranged marriage, later married a teenage duke (while she was in her 40s) and is rumored to have been the paramour of a pope. Today, she is remembered with a monument in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome (designed by Bernini no less), a golf course that bears her name in Emilia-Romagna, and the Terre di Canossa classic car event. Somehow I believe that the classic cars would be her favorite of these tributes!

The race takes place over several days with stops in different cities to display the cars and make an overnight stay. And while the days are for driving, the nights are for food and wine, with the event billed as being for “gentleman drivers and gourmands.” I did, however, see a few gentlewomen among the drivers.

When the route passed through Lucca, the cars arrived to the fanfare of drummers and flag bearers in Medieval garb. After a stop in Piazza Napoleone to show off the cars to the gathered crowd, they set off for a circuit atop a the ancient city walls.  And then it was off to the next phase of the road race.

And while my knowledge of classic cars is limited, I recognized the names - Fiat, Porsche, BMW, Austin-Healey, Lancia, Alfa Romeo - and I appreciated their sleek beauty.

Just imagine driving through Italy in one of these cars - can you feel the wind in your hair?   -Post by JMB

Verdemura - the Unofficial Start to Spring in Lucca

As if the ancient walls around Lucca are not beautiful enough in spring – with trees and grass greening and wildflowers displaying their colors – every year a massive garden show is held atop a section of the walls, giving locals and visitors alike a chance to shop for plantings and décor. The 2019 Verdemura was held earlier this month and what a show it was.

White-tented booths started popping up along a 9,000-square-meter stretch of the wall before the show opened on a Friday afternoon. For the next three days, flowers, herbs, trees, handcrafted birdhouses, garden ornaments, ceramics in spring pastels vegetables, fruits,, and many other items were put on display by 223 exhibitors. (There were food booths where lunch or a snack could be had,, too!)

Wandering from booth to booth, and chatting with the vendors and other shoppers, was a fun way to spend an afternoon. It was also a beautiful reminder of the hope that spring brings. –post by JG

A wheelbarrow is filled to the brim with one shopper’s finds at Verdemura this year.