Villa Torrigiani di Camigliano

For wealthy and prominent citizens of Lucca in the 16th and 17th century, having a villa outside of the city was both a summer getaway to the cool, fresh air of the hills and a status symbol. The villas were set in farmland, olive groves, or amid grape vines and were often surrounded by lovely gardens. Luckily for us, many of those historic villas still exist, are open to visitors, and are just a short distance from Lucca. A perfect day excursion.

The worker’s cottages are in Borgo Parigi, just outside the villa’s gates.

One such place is the Villa Torrigiani in the tiny village of Camigliano, in the commune of Capannori, about 6 miles from Lucca. The villa is framed by stone walls with large gates. The approach brings you slowly closer to the villa on a path that cuts through open fields. When I visited in mid-April, the fields were full of vibrant yellow buttercups and small purple flowers.

Close to the villa’s gates lies the small, picturesque Borgo Parigi which at one time housed the estate’s workers. After passing through the stone buildings of Borgo Parigi it is on to the villa itself, just across the road.

The “new” facade, from the 1600’s, was much more ornate than the original one

Villa Torrigiani sits in a park-like setting, surrounded by reflecting pools, broad lawns, trees, water features, and manicured gardens. The history of the villa is fascinating. The summer home of Lucca’s Buonvisi family in the 1500’s, it had a simple facade and was surrounded by vegetable gardens. When the Buonvisi fortunes changed (because the King of France failed to repay them money he owed) the villa had to be sold. Enter Marquis Nicolao Santini, the Ambassador from Lucca (at that time Lucca was an independent republic) to Versailles and the court of Louis XIV. Santini purchased the Villa in 1636 and began to rework the more simple Italian villa into a French style building and garden - a smaller version of Versailles. The facade was changed to the more elaborate style that we see today, complete with the columns, statues, arches, and a variety of colors.

This staircase leads down to the lower level garden and it hides a surprise - a narrow grotto passage full of mythical creatures. Don’t be afraid to enter!

The Marquis Santini also banished the vegetable gardens in favor of elegant reflecting pools surrounded by flower gardens and avenues of cypress trees. A stunning tiered staircase leading from the foot of a long pool down to a sunken garden, complete with a nymphaeum (the Ninfeo di Venti, middle photo below) at one end and a hidden grotto passage at the other, were also added. To create that French feel in the garden, the Marquis employed André Le Nötre, one of the designers of Versailles.

The villa landscape has continued to undergo changes, the biggest being a change in the 18th century to a more English style garden. Out went the flower beds around the reflecting pools and in came broad lawns, imported trees (including Magnolias, Cedars, and Camellias), and a wooded area. At some point the vineyards behind the house were also removed (though the old wine cellar remains).

The villa itself is also interesting. The ground floor is open for tours (arranged at the ticket booth just inside the entry gates). The tour guides provide wonderful historical perspective, plus with much of the information I’ve recounted here, along with family history of the occupants from the earliest Marquis to the present day owners. The glimpse inside the house is a chance to admire the still vibrant ceiling frescoes (look for camellias, a symbol of the family), the trompe l’oeil wall decorations, and many other artifacts on display.

The rear loggia of the Villa Torrigiani and the meeting place for tours of the home.

The villa is large but once past the ornate facade it has a very human scale. Perhaps that is because it remains to this day the summer home of descendants of the Santini-Torrigiani family. Family photos are scattered throughout, original fabrics adorn the beds, the dining table is set, there is even a dress worn by a previous occupant (1920’s style) on display in her bedroom. It is easy to imagine sitting on the back loggia with a book and a cup of tea, enjoying the birdsong, the breeze, and the history. Because this is still a family home (the family quarters are upstairs, tucked away from the visitors downstairs) photography is not permitted inside the villa. It was a challenge to keep my camera in my pocket and not to dash up the stairs to see the upper floors!

Just as it did for Lucca’s historic families, a visit to a villa outside of town provides a countryside experience different from that of the walled city. There are 6 historic villas to visit close to Lucca, Villa Torrigiani is a good place to start.

The villa is open from March through November. 10am - 1pm and 2:30 pm - 6 pm. Note that they may close earlier in bad weather.

Contact Info: Villa Torrigiani del Camigliano. Via del Gomberaio 3, Camigliano email: villacamigliano@gmail.com phone: +39 0583 928041 tickets available on site, 8€ for the garden only, 15€ garden plus villa

The family chapel on the grounds of the Villa Torrigiani

All The Right Ingredients: Extra Virgin Cooking Classes in Lucca, Italy

One of the good things about having friends visit me in Lucca is the chance to recommend activities that I think will enhance their experience, things that may not be found in the guidebooks. Sometimes my suggestions include a visit to a “secret” garden, a hidden away little church, a walk beneath Lucca’s walls, or a local festival.

Another activity I like to recommend - and one of the most fun things to do when visiting Italy - is a cooking class with a local chef. Recently I had the pleasure of spending the day, along with some visiting friends, with Chef Giuseppe Mazzocchi at Extra Virgin Cooking Classes (EVCC) in Lucca. And what a day it was!

Tuscan cooking, and Tuscan olive oil, come naturally to Chef Giuseppe. I guess that is what happens when you are born and raised at your grandfather’s olive mill in a small Tuscan village! Giuseppe began to cook alongside his family and many of the recipes he shares come straight from his nonna (grandmother). More than being a talented chef and teacher, Giuseppe has a love for local culinary traditions and flavors that make his classes a wonderful window into Tuscan life.

Just one detail from the elegant dining table at EVCC (designed by the talented Liz)

If Giuseppe is the heart of the kitchen, then it is his partner Liz who lends elegance to the dining experience. Together they welcome you into their home, invite you into their kitchen, and, once the cooking is done, present an absolutely gorgeous table setting at which to enjoy lunch. Liz’s table settings are picture-worthy touches of luxury.

The class day began in Lucca’s historic center with stops at several small shops to gather supplies. Visits to an historic pastry shop, a fabulous bread baker, and the city’s best fruit and vegetable shop provided a fun start to a morning of cooking.

Then it was into the kitchen, a spacious, well-equipped, and charming workspace inside an historic Lucca home. I had a serious case of kitchen envy, especially for the long farmhouse work table, which I swear was larger than my entire kitchen.

Before we got to work cooking, Giuseppe led us through some tastings. First, three different types of extra virgin olive oil, including a local Tuscan oil. Next, a sampling of pecorino cheeses from fresh to aged to really aged, along with a local chestnut honey which perfectly complimented the cheese. There just may have been some sipping of Prosecco while we tasted. Shh. Don’t tell (usually I wait until afternoon for a Prosecco).

The menu this day started with a raw artichoke salad with a lemony dressing. The shaved artichoke rested on a base of the prettiest greens I’ve ever seen, including a variegated radicchio.

Now that’s a salad !

We had fun learning how to make, and then shape, the gnudi. Gnudi are interesting. They are essentially the filling for a ravioli, ricotta with chard (or spinach) and parmesan, but without being enclosed in a pasta shell. An egg white and some rice flour bind the soft gnudi together and then they are shaped using two spoons to form an oval that will hold together during a brief dance in some boiling water. We also made a quickly cooked tomato sauce which went over the gnudi at the end. The result was a tasty and light as air dish.

Next up - a fragrant risotto with leeks and just the right amount of truffle butter. If only I could share the scent here - it was intoxicating. We even learned the chef’s secret for preparing a risotto without the constant stirring.

Leek and truffle risotto alongside gnudi in tomato sauce

How gorgeous is this berry topped panna cotta? It tasted as good as it looked!

Dessert had been prepared ahead of time for us - a beautiful heart shaped panna cotta with a berry sauce.

Together we plated the panna cotta, topped them with berries, and added a garnish of chopped of fresh mint.

Just when we didn’t think we could eat another bite, cups of espresso came with tiny bites of sweet pastry. Somehow we managed!

After a fun morning preparing food, it was a treat to sit down to lunch at a beautiful table (thank you Liz) and share the meal we had prepared.

Lunch was accompanied by local wines, good conversation, and lots of laughter.

We all agreed that we had spent a perfect day in Giuseppe’s kitchen. We left with recipes, a EVCC apron, and good memories of a day well spent. And we all started planning our return.

Contact info: Extra Virgin Cooking Classes in Lucca with Chef Giuseppe Mazzocchi

Email: tuscancook@gmail.com

Oxen, Doves, and Exploding Carts: Florence’s Unique Easter Celebration

Celebrating the season of Easter (Pasqua in Italian) in Italy is always a treat. The pageantry, the traditions, the medieval flair add up to a uniquely Italian celebration.

Holy week begins with Palm Sunday (Domenica delle Palme) mass where, here in Lucca, olive branches are handed out (much easier to obtain than palms).  Olive branches represent peace and hope, an especially poignant symbol this year with war raging not so far away in Ukraine.

Good Friday (Venerdì Santo) is marked in many Italian cities by deeply moving processions.  In Lucca, this provides instant transport back to the Middle Ages as robe clad and barefoot penitents carry a heavy wooden crucifix through the city’s ancient cobbled streets. 

Venerdì Santo procession, Lucca 2022

Traditions vary from city to city, but perhaps the most interesting and unique Easter Sunday celebration, the Scoppio del Carro (rough translation, the Explosion of the Cart) occurs in Florence.  Each year a cart, called a Brindellone – the suffix “one” gives a hint that this is no ordinary cart but a really, really big one – is pulled through the streets of Florence by a team of white oxen, all dressed up with flower garlands on their heads and red bows on their tails.  

The brindellone towers several stories high and is packed full of fireworks (top photo).  

The procession, which winds its way through the center of town, ends in front of Florence’s marble clad Duomo. The brindellone is escorted by a legion of costumed flag bearers, drummers, guards with plumed hats and swords, and dignitaries.

 The next step involves historic flints, a candle, and some coal.  

The ancient “fire holder” and flints are kept in the church of SS Apostoli. (photo from church website)

Legend says that the flints are from the tomb of Jesus and were awarded to a young Florentine who participated in the crusades. Today the flints reside in the SS Apostoli church.  On Easter, a spark from the flints lights a candle which plays an important in the Easter ceremony.  This is just the beginning.

 Next comes the dove.  Not a real dove but a white metallic “rocket” dove.  The dove (La Colombina in Italian) begins its Easter journey from inside the Duomo.  During mass, using the candle which was lit by the flints, the archbishop lights the dove which travels along a wire, flying through the cathedral and out to the cart where it sets off the explosion of fireworks.  All the while bells ring from the campanile (bell tower) of the church.  Imagine that!

A successful flight of the dove confers good luck for the upcoming growing season and harvest. Should the dove go astray and fail on its mission - well lets not even consider that possibility. The world has had enough trouble lately without this happening! Luckily this year the dove soared down the wire, pausing briefly mid-flight, and then hit its mark. The cart exploded and sent sparks and smoke into the sky.

I had heard of this unique Easter celebration, but I had never experienced it in person.  So this year, along with some visiting friends, it was off to Florence for Easter weekend.  A trip to Florence is always wonderful, and the experience of the Scoppio del Carro was especially fun, even on a cold and windy Easter morning.  Add in a lovely Easter luncheon, and some time with friends, and this event was the perfect beginning to an Italian spring.

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.

An Introduction to Padova: Part Two

Padova is most famous for its churches. Visitors come to admire the small but spectacular Scrovegni Chapel and the even smaller Oratorio of St. George along with Padova’s baptistery. All three are filled with beautiful frescoes that bring Bible stories to life. In contrast to these small spaces is the grand Basilica of Saint Anthony with its Chapel of Reliquaries, tomb, beautiful main altar, and starry blue ceiling.

But Padova offers more than chapels, baptisteries and basilicas. It is definitely worth seeking out the city’s other attractions including markets, historic buildings, piazzas, pedestrian shopping streets, and attractive outdoor spaces. Getting around town is easy both on foot and with a modern tram system.

Here are some other possibilities when spending a few days in Padova:

Looking down on the city and the stalls of the daily market from the loggia of the Palazzo della Ragione, Padova.

The Palazzo della Ragione sits atop the busy food hall and overlooks the markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta.

Loggia, Palazzo della Ragione, Padova

 In medieval times the Palazzo della Ragione served as the Hall of Justice.  Outside is a loggia with beautifully painted arches.  Inside the space is cavernous with a wooden “upturned ship’s hull” shaped roof and a gigantic wooden horse. An intriguing series of frescoes, based on astrology, wraps around the interior of the palazzo.  The frescoes represent months, planets, and signs of the zodiac.  It’s fun to view the seasons in sequence, see how the art reflects the essence of each month, and find how one’s own birth sign is represented.

The pietra del vituperio (stone of shame), where debtors sat before being driven from the city, is still in place at one end of the great hall.  History says that Saint Anthony proposed a seat on this stone as an alternative to harsher punishments.

Imagine sitting here in shame as punishment for debts.

Two of the outdoor spaces in Padova, the Prato della Valle and the Orto Botanico (Botanic Gardens), are delightful.

Prato della Valle, Padova

The Prato della Valle is a large open space not far from the Basilica of Saint Anthony. It was once the field in which the saint preached.  Today it is the “central park” of Padova. The Prato (which means lawn in Italian) is encircled by a canal which is crossed by small stone footbridges. The park is also dotted with statues and fountains.  It’s a pleasant area full of people - mothers pushing prams, couples sitting in the sun, retirees out for a walk, bicyclers and walkers enjoying a stroll.

The Orto Botanico is also close to the Basilica of St. Anthony. It is a large space with a series of gardens, plants from around the world, and educational displays.  Founded in the 1500’s as a garden for medicinal plants and herbs, it has been in this very spot ever since.  There are fountains to be enjoyed and wonderful views throughout the spaces of the botanic garden.

A visit to Padova, including all of the above places plus some time for shopping and wandering, can easily fill three days.  Add in a trip to the central daily market and some great dining and three days fly by. I am looking forward to a future return trip, perhaps combined with a few days in Verona or Venice.