Brenta Canal Part Two: The Villa Pisani

The Villas along the Brenta Canal were built between the 16th and 18th century.  Some were built for agriculture and commerce but many as summer getaways for rich and powerful Venetians.  They lined the canal between Venice and the city of Padova, forming an extension of Venice that became known as the “Brenta Riviera”. 

A beautifully decorated hallway in Villa Pisani

The front entrance to Villa Pisani

The villas were designed to impress.  Their ornate trimmings, art filled halls, grand ballrooms, and sweeping gardens played host to Doges, Popes, Kings, Emperors, artists and wealthy merchants during the height of the Venetian Empire.   After the fall of Venice, in 1797, with the arrival of Napoleon, many of the villas changed hands, often due to the financial problems of the owners. 

Today some villas are in disrepair (imagine the costs of upkeep!), some are abandoned, some have been converted into museums, restaurants or hotels. Others are privately owned. A few of the most spectacular ones are open to the public.

The villas can easily be visited by car, but a more elegant (though much slower) way to tour the villas is to arrive by burchiello – a modern version of the historic boats that once moved people and goods along the canal. That is exactly what a group of friends and I did recently.  The boat trip from Padua to Venice took about 9 hours, with stops at 3 villas along the way.  The visits included a guide who shared the history of each villa, details about the art and architecture, and some good 16th – 18th century gossip about villa life.

The first villa on the itinerary was Villa Pisani.  Built to celebrate the election of Alvise Pisani as the 114th Doge of Venice, the villa is the crown jewel of the Brenta Riviera.  The Pisani family owned the villa until it was sold to Napoleon in 1808.  

The villa is remarkable in many ways.  First, its size.  The place is massive!  The 144 rooms are said to represent the number of Venetian Doges up to Pisani.  One room is filled with wall mounted sculptures of the head of each doge.  Look carefully on the wall to the right to find the likeness of Alvise Pisani.   

The Pisani’s must have loved to entertain, because their ballroom is nothing short of spectacular.  The room shimmers with gold trimmings.  High above is an ornate balcony which rings the room – a place for the musicians to play.  And the ceiling! The ceiling fresco is by Tiepolo and it is a marvel. The ballroom is the truly the elegant heart of the villa. Standing here you can almost hear the music playing and can imagine the finely clothed Venetians enjoy a luxurious party.

The visit to the villa includes the piano nobile where a series of rooms are filled with history.  There is the bedroom where King Vittorio Emanuele II slept (left below).  Next door, the room of his second wife, the Contessa di Mirafiori, with a reproduction of one of her dresses (right).

The room dedicated to music and the elegant sala di pranzo (dining room) face out onto the immaculate grounds and the stable (shown below at the end of the reflecting pool and looking very much like another villa).

Napoleon only spent one night here, but he left the villa in the hands of his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy.  The Viceroy lived there with his wife, adding fireplaces for heating (most of the Brenta Villas were not heated as they were intended to be summer homes), and creating a chapel, a study and a games room.  The study is where a later historic meeting between Mussolini and Hitler took place prior to World War II.

A peak at the grounds outside the villa. I’ll need a return visit to explore the gardens!

The grounds are equally impressive.  The 30 acres contain a large reflecting pool, stables, an orangery, ice house, and a labyrinth.

Is it true that Napoleon got lost in the labyrinth?  It is said that he did but, to use the Italian phrase, chissà (who knows)?  

The only drawback to our guided visit is that we did not have any time in the gardens.  I will need to go back and wander those beautiful spaces.

Today the Villa and surrounding park is a National Museum.  

The Villa is open from 31 March to 30 September this year, 9 am – 8pm (last admission 1 hour before closing), closed on Mondays.  The labyrinth is currently closed for restoration.

 Coming soon – Part 3, Villa Widmann

 Website: villapisani.beniculturali.it

Email: info@museovillapisani.it

Cost €12 villa + park, €6 park only

Bentornato Giugno (Welcome Back June)

Is there a better place to people watch on a June morning than a piazza in Tuscany?

The month of June has arrived, bringing ideal weather to Lucca. Blue skies are dotted with wispy clouds, the temperature is unusually mild, and there is just a hint of breeze.   An occasional rain helps keep things cool. Perfetto!

 Along with the lovely weather, the beginning of June also brings the start of the busy summer season.  The piazze (that’s plural for piazza, the squares that make Italian cities so enjoyable in summer) are filled with big umbrellas, outdoor tables, bustling waiters, lively visitors and locals, and street musicians.   This morning, as I sipped a cappuccino in Piazza San Michele,  the gentle, just-right-volume sound of Beatles music drifted in from under the nearby loggia.  Mornings like this feel cinematic, with me starring in my very own set-in-Italy film, complete with soundtrack.  

Piazza del Giglio, Lucca

 Another piazza, Piazza del Giglio, hosted a ceramic market last weekend.  The booths were filled with all types of ceramic goods.   Many featured items that were both beautiful and well suited to daily use – coffee and tea cups, bowls, pitchers, oil carafes, teapots.  The designs and colors were eye-catching.

The booth that I found most enchanting was full of ceramic buttons, earrings, and small ornaments.  The buttons were all sizes, from tiny to extra-large, and decorated with hand painted designs.  It was impossible to look at them and not smile.  There were flowers, hearts, birds, houses and fish made into bottoni (buttons) and orecchini (earrings). 

Ceramic art pieces and jewelry were also a feature of the market.  From whimsical dogs and cats to pretty pins and earrings to stunning sculptural pieces there was something to please everyone.

The first weekend end of June also saw the start of the Lucca Summer Festival (LSF 24). 

The season-long music festival is the big event of summer, drawing large crowds and big acts to town.  A huge stage is constructed on the green space just outside the walls. This is there where the largest concerts will take place. 

Booths with box seats are placed along the walls high above the stage.   Eric Clapton, on June 2nd, was the first concert on the big stage.  Fortunately an afternoon thunderstorm ended in time so that it did not impact the concert.

Ed Sheeran will follow with two concerts next week.   

People without tickets often catch the music from the street just inside the walls, nearest to the stage. Years ago I heard the Rolling Stones from that spot, along with about 1,000 other ticket-less persons.

 Smaller concerts will take place in Piazza Napoleone.  A few lucky persons will be able to catch those concerts from their terraces a short distance from the piazza. 

The list of performers is varied with something to appeal to everyone.   All this and it is just the first weekend of June!  It is going to be a busy summer in Lucca.

Ceramic flowers - no watering required!

A Spring Weekend in Lucca

It seems as if we waited a long time for spring to arrive this year.  Cold and rainy weather lasted well into May.  But finally, on the last weekend in May, spring finally showed up.  And it is glorious!  

The temperatures are mild, the breezes gentle, and the skies are filled with cotton ball clouds with only the smallest hint of rain. The trees are green, the scent of Jasmine fills the air, and pretty flower boxes fill balconies. Is there a better place to spend spring than in Tuscany? 

 The final days of May also brought two very enjoyable festivals to Lucca. 

The first is the Lucca Medievale Festival.   The event took place on the mura storiche (historic walls) where a medieval encampment sprang up along one of the large green bulwarks that jut out from the walls.  

Throughout the camp craftsmen and women, all in costume, demonstrated medieval crafts.  There were woodturners, blacksmiths, and chainmail makers.

Weavers and clothmakers worked alongside pottery artisans and clog makers. Rough beeswax candles were on display as were some ancient (and quite scary) medical instruments.  A stone carver worked with small tools to create delicate designs.

Musicians played antique instruments; there was no shortage of medieval weapons. Throughout the weekend-long festival were exhibitions of historic dances, arts, crossbow competitions, and music. Lucca is in so many ways still a medieval town and the festival really brings that era to life. It’s an annual event - now is the time to make plans to visit Lucca next spring!

 The second event to enliven the city in late May was the French Market.  It is always exciting when this market comes to town. It is only fitting that the market fills Piazza Napoleone, Lucca’s largest piazza.  The large open piazza was created during the time when Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, was the Principessa of Lucca.  Her impact on Lucca is felt to this day. I think she would approve of hosting a French market in front of her palace!

 The market featured typical French products – soaps, perfumes, and table linens as well as French foods.   French breads were baked on site. French pastries and French cheeses filled the booths.  And the quiches! Quiche Lorraine, goat cheese and tomato, veggie and even salmon quiches warm from the oven were ready to take home for a tasty French themed lunch. 

Whenever the French market comes to Lucca, I line up to buy some bastoncini.  These breads – much thicker than a breadstick but thinner than a small baguette – are a bit of an addiction for me.  Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, they are studded with olives, walnuts, pancetta, or cheese.   Paired with a market quiche and a salad they transport me right back to Provence. 

 The spring days in Lucca are meant to be enjoyed - a wonderful pause between the cold, rainy season and the advent of hot weather and busy summer activities. Welcome spring!

Brenta Canal Part One: The Journey

A vintage drawing of a the Villa di Oriaggo along the Brenta Canal

Beginning in the 15th century, the merchants and Noblemen of the Venetian Republic (long before Italy as a unified country came into being) began to acquire property on the mainland west of the Venetian Lagoon. 

The land they developed was used for farming and later for building summer homes and grand villas.  Having a villa along the “Brenta Riviera” was quite fashionable for well-to-do Venetians.   

 The Brenta Canal, a stretch of the Brenta River between Padua and Venice, was the waterway used to move people and goods from the lowlands of Venice up river to Padua.  The canal was modified with a series of locks, some built to a design first developed by Leonardo Da Vinci, to allow boats to make the uphill trip.  

Imagine rowing across the Venetian Lagoon in one of these boats and then being pulled up the Brenta Canal by horses! Sadly, there are no surviving examples of a Burchiello as all were destroyed when Napoleon came to power in Venice.

 Two types of boats travelled the canal.  The first, a burchio, carried goods.  The second, a  burchiello was an ornate boat designed to ferry Noblemen in grand style from Venice to their summer homes on the mainland along the Brenta canal.  The boats were rowed across the lagoon and then pulled by horses up river, passing through a series of locks and under several moveable bridges.

 The tradition of spending summers along the Brenta Canal ended in 1797 when Napoleon arrived and the Venetian Republic fell. Sadly, all of the Burchiello boats were destroyed. We have only drawings but no actual boats to see. Today, a different kind of burchiello travels the canal between Padua and Venice.   Modern motorized boats carry tourists on day-long trips to experience the canal and tour several of the Villas along the route.

The boat for our excursion, named the Burchiellino, tied up at the Villa Foscari

The modern route still uses the old locks to climb up (or down) the 10 meter change in water level along the canal. The boats pass under several sliding bridges and swing bridges – some still operated by hand.

 Along the route are scenes of life along the Brenta canal.

The trip passes by a series of the villas along the way.  Some are sadly in need of repair, some have been adapted for use as restaurants or hotels, and some remain as beautiful and well tended private residences.  A few (lucky for us!) are open to the public. (photos below all taken from the boat on a cloudy day)

On the day-long cruise, with the company Il Burchiello, we were able to visit 3 historic villas – Villa Pisani, Villa Widmann, and the Palladian masterpiece of Villa Foscari.  More about the villas in an upcoming post.  

 Contact info: Il Burchiello www.itburchiello.it. Cost for the full day journey €129 for adults, half day €69

A Spring Time Market in Padova

A cold and rainy March gave way to an April with very erratic weather in northern Italy.  Some days felt very much like spring, a couple of days brought summer temperatures, and other days were unseasonably cold.  But that didn’t stop spring produce from appearing in the markets, providing lots of inspiration for early spring cooking. I spent some time earlier this month in Padova, a city with an exceptionally good food market. Fortunately, I had a sunny day perfect for exploring the market.  A morning spent shopping here is, to me at least, every bit as wonderful as visiting the major attractions of the city. 

The Palazzo della Ragione provides a beautiful and historic backdrop for Padova’s market

Part of the market takes place outdoors in front of the beautiful Palazzo della Ragione where a piazza full of stalls sell the freshest, most beautiful produce.  It would be hard to ask for a better setting than this historic spot.

 In April the spring vegetables take center stage.   The colorful choices start with a whole palette of shades of green.  Fat green asparagus sit alongside the white variety, playing off the thin deep green shoots of the nearby agretti and bags of shelled peas.  

 The leeks are pale with green tops while the fresh pea pods are a vibrant shade of green.  There are green with a yellow tinge fava beans, perfect to snack on paired with a bit of salty cheese.  And broad, flat green beans which remind me of the ones my Italian grandfather grew in his New York backyard. 

 For contrast, yellow and red peppers provide some brilliant color alongside pale white new onions and golden brown new potatoes. 

 Purple tinged artichokes are piled up to be sold whole or already trimmed and either cut in half or pared down to just the heart (why can’t I find these in Lucca?).  

 The strawberries are mouthwatering – they were bright red, sweet, and delicious.   

The second half of the market takes place indoors underneath the Palazzo della Ragione. 

Here you’ll find carnivore heaven with the most wonderful selection of meats.  The Macellai (butchers) display everything from simple cuts to prepared rolled and stuffed roasts of beef, chicken, guinea fowl, and turkey.  Prepared polpette (meatballs) too.  The salumeria (delis) have salami, prosciutto, bresaola, and other meats for slicing. 

 The Pescivendoli (fishmongers) sell whole fish, fillets, big piovra (octopus), sardines and anchovies, shrimp, and lots of shellfish varieties.  Whipped baccala (a specialy of the Venetian area) is available by the scoopful. 

 And the formaggi (cheeses)!  The scent is swoon-worthy and the choices seemingly endless. 

 Other stalls display olives, cicchetti (those small Venetian style bites of goodness), fresh pasta, grains, spices, honey, and a wide selection of prepared foods. The flower stall was colorful and featured spring tulips.

 Everytime I visit this market I begin to think that I should move to Padova - it really is a cook’s dream. My next visit will have to be longer and in an apartment with a kitchen! If the springtime market is this wonderful, just imagine what summer will bring!