Lucca Comics and Games 2025

After a couple of weeks away from Lucca, I arrived back just in time for the 2025 edition of Lucca Comics and Games (Comics for short). The event is massive – Lucca’s narrow medieval streets, and every piazza, are packed full of people.  It is a little hard to imagine what 100,000 people look like when shoehorned into a small medieval city.  Trust me, it is wall to wall crowds. The thought of hurrying to get anywhere is laughable.  Going with the flow is the only choice. While I do grumble (often and loudly) about the crowds, somehow I find myself darting through them to take photographs. 

 This year’s theme was French Kiss, a nod to the influence of France in art, pop culture, and comics. The organizers further described the theme as Liberty, Creativity, and Diversity. All three of those values were on display, especially in the fantastic costumes.  The French theme showed up in various ways, berets and all.

I missed one photo opportunity that passed by too quickly  – men in black shirts that read “Louvre Security”.  They carried bags of jewels - a last minute but creative and theme-appropriate costume. 

 The first two days of the event were very rainy, but days 3 - 5 saw better weather.   Still overcast, but dry and 60+ degrees, it was perfect Comics weather and a nice Halloween treat.  It also meant that the costumes came out from under jackets and raincoats, filling the streets with all sorts of characters.

 It was entertaining wandering through Lucca taking photos.  The costumes ranged from simple to elaborate, from scary to fantastical, from prim and proper to sexy.  There were super heroes and princesses, monsters and angels, gaming figures and fairytale characters, steampunk cosplayers (my personal favorite), knights and ladies, cowgirls, ninjas, and men in drag. There were even a few creatures that I could not begin to identify, though many had the same pointy ears. 

A simple “posso?” and all were happy to stop and pose for photos.  

The crowds are quite well behaved, making it a safe space for families and kids. The kids were adorable! 

Whole families wore coordinating costumes, some even bringing along their dogs.

 Babbo Natale made an early appearance, stopping for lunch with some of his elves.

When it comes to Comics, pictures really are worth 1,000 words. Enjoy these photos.  Next week – Steampunk!

A big thanks to my friend Candice for sharing some photos for this post!

Calm Before Chaos in Late October

A quiet hidden corner of Lucca

October is when the crowds in Lucca begin to thin a bit.  There is a marked shift in the air – over are the special events of the Settembre Lucchese festival month. The evenings and early mornings are chilly, and this year the days are wonderfully sunny and warm. The early mornings and late evenings are a crowd-free breath of fresh air.

Life is normal - the olives have been harvested and the new oil has arrived, the markets are full of fall produce, there are morning coffees with friends, children play in the parks and ride the carousel, there are small concerts, and the streets are a little quieter. We can feel fall creeping in with the falling leaves.

But we also can’t miss the signs that say we should enjoy these last calm days because chaos is on the way.

A warm October day, before the start of Comics, is the perfect time for a ride on the carousel.

The chaos (my word, others would call it excitement) comes in the form of the approaching Lucca Comics and Games event.  The first sign of the chaos to come is the appearance of tents along the walls and in the main piazzas of the city.  I think of this as “la stagione delle tende”, the season of the tents.  It is a short but intense season here in Lucca. The white tents seem to go up earlier and earlier; they even crept in during the last week of September this year, well before the late October start date for Comics.  The smaller tents materialized first up on the walls, but soon the sound of larger ones being erected rang out in Piazza Napoleone, Piazza San Martino, Piazza Santa Maria, and even in the historic Piazza Anfiteatro.  Tents don’t make for interesting photos – so I will post just this one !

A beautiful October day along Lucca’s walls in the “season of the tents”

A photo from many years ago, still one of my favorite costumes. Imagine the work it took to create this elaborate dress.

 I must admit I have a bah humbug attitude about comics.  I hate to see Lucca’s beauty disappear as the tents take center stage and I dread the crowds (100,000 tickets per day!).  I generally plan to be out of town for the 5-day event, but this year my plans fell through and so I will be in Lucca throughout Comics.  Funny (or perhaps not so funny), but the same thing happened last year as the illness of a friend meant staying in Lucca.  It seems the universe laughs at my escape plans and arranges for me to be here.  At least it will mean some great photos!

As much as I don’t like the crowds (especially difficult for us short people who can’t see over all the heads), I do plan to approach the event with a good attitude. I have purchased some essentials and my freezer is as full as a tiny Italian freezer can be (negotiating the streets to go shopping is a challenge, best to stock up beforehand). A couple of friends and I hope to escape by bus on some days to one or two of the smaller towns near Lucca (avoiding the packed trains at all costs!).  And the early mornings, before all the participants arrive, is a good time for a walk in the crisp October air.

There are some things that I enjoy about Comics.  The costumes are amazing and the work that people put into designing them is impressive.  There is one fountain in particular where people go specifically to be seen and photographed (top photo).  I will try to sneak through the back streets to avoid the masses and arrive there early one day and grab some photos.    

And there is one Comics aspect that I truly love – the Steam Punk parades. This year the parades will feature participants showing off their very elaborate Steam Punk style in three scheduled events, each with a unique theme.  Count on photos and descriptions in November blog posts

Steam Punk 2024

But before comics, I am off on a travel adventure beginning in Budapest and ending in Passau, Germany. I’ll be back just in time for the chaos (I meant to say fun) of Comics. My camera is about to get a workout with photos from both my October travel and Lucca Comics and Games!

Changing leaves, October shadows, and a stretch of wall without any tents!

Lucca in Black and White

When I think of Lucca, I see color. Blue skies, sunsets that glow in orange and red, green trees lining the historic city walls, balconies full of colorful flowers.

There are wisteria blooms in spring, bright orange drinks in a piazza during summer, and gourds in all shades in fall. In the market, the color comes from red peppers, purple artichokes, bright green spring agretti, and orange clementines. There are red brick medieval buildings, ochre colored homes, and painted doors. Now, in October, the leaves will soon be changing and we will crunch through drying leaves of yellow and gold as we walk.

As much as I love all of Lucca’s colors, the city has a moody side as well. When the skies darken, the winds blow, and a chill seeps through the thick walls of the buildings it is a different city altogether.

I’ve been trying to capture this other side of Lucca in photographs. To do so, I have been experimenting lately with black and white photos.

A black and white picture highlights shadows and brings a focus on details that can be missed when there is the “distraction” of color.

They can be one way to show the side of Lucca that is a bit more dramatic, unpredictable, petulant even.

This week, I bring you Lucca in black and white.

Making Necci At The Olive Press Kitchen

Fall is chestnut season. The leaves and the round stone disks above can be used to turn chestnut flour into rustic crepe-like necci.

Roasting chestnuts at the fall festival in Colognora di Pescaglia

Fall is chestnut season here in Tuscany.  Any day now the scent of roasting chestnuts will fill the air. When that happens, necci are sure to follow. Necci, essentially chestnut flour pancakes, were once a staple in the kitchens of the Tuscan countryside  Only 3 ingredients are needed to make the batter – chestnut flour, a pinch of salt, and some water.  They are a classic example of cucina povera, dishes made from ingredients readily available in times of scarcity.  In Tuscany, the abundance of chestnut trees supplied many essentials to people who might otherwise have gone without – wood for heating, charcoal for cooking, and chestnuts to roast, dry, or grind into flour. That flour is the basis for necci. 

I was introduced to necci (necci is plural, the singular form is neccio) years ago at a local fall food festival where the batter was ladled onto long-handled, flat, metal paddles and cooked quickly over a gas flame.   Hot off the paddle, and naturally a little sweet, they were heavenly rolled around a filling of fresh ricotta cheese with a drizzle with honey.

Testi - stones that are heated to cook necci the rustic way

Necci were made differently in times past. I first learned about the old method when visiting the Chestnut Museum in the tiny village of Colognora di Pescaglia years ago. In the museum a stack of round stone disks, called testi, sat beside an open fireplace.  The museum guide explained that the testi were used to cook necci long before the metal paddles came into use.  But just exactly how that worked was not entirely clear to me.

Fast forward to last year when I took a cooking class with chef Giuseppe Mazzocchi at The Olive Press Kitchen in the hills near Montecatini.  The kitchen there has a large open fireplace; sitting beside it was a stack of testi.  Necci were not on the class menu that day, but Giuseppe promised that in the fall he would teach me the old way of cooking necci. 

A week or so ago a few friends and I headed to Guiseppe’s kitchen, in the building that once housed his grandparents’ olive mill, to make necci the rustic way, just as his grandparents and their neighbors did a generation or two ago.  In additional to flour, salt, and water to make the batter, we used chestnut leaves, the stone testi, and a hot fire. 

The dry chestnut leaves, collected from property around the mill, were soaked in water to make them pliable. While they were soaking, the stone testi were placed on a rack above the fire in the kitchen’s beautiful open fireplace. 

Heating the testi to prepare them to cook the necci

Once heated, the layering began.  First, a hot stone.  Next, a layer of wet chestnut leaves.  On top, a scoop of batter (not too much, the necci should be thin. It takes some practice to get this just right).  More leaves go on top of the batter.  Next, another stone. 

We repeated the layering until we had a tower of stones 6 or 8 high.  The heat from the stones cooked the necci as they sat close to, but not above, the fire (I’ve posted a short video of the process on Instagram two_parts_italy). It didn’t take long for the necci to be ready – but between our chatting, sipping prosecco, and having a wonderful lunch, I admit I lost track of the exact timing. 

The necci became our after-lunch treat.  As we pulled the stacks of stone apart, the chestnut leaves left their imprint on each neccio – making them look as beautiful as they smelled.  Filled with the traditional filling of ricotta and a little honey, they made a perfect ending to the meal – an autumn delicacy infused with the flavors of the past.

I can’t thank Giuseppe enough for hosting us and patiently teaching us the rustic method of necci making.  For me, it was the perfect combination of history, cooking, friends around the fireplace, and the start of the fall season. 

Olive Press Kitchen contact info: website: theolivepresskitchen.com email: info@theolivepresskitchen.com phone/WhatsApp. +39 329 743 3364

It’s always a pleasure to spend a day at Il Molino - the historic mill that houses The Olive Press Kitchen - where the welcome is warm and the scenery spectacular.

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

One of many statues in the courtyard of the Bargello, this one, from 1579 by Domenico Poggini, is particularly lovely

I could spend the next 20 years in Florence and still not have studied all the art that can be found there.  There is so much to experience - in public buildings, palaces, churches, and museums - that it can be overwhelming, especially if trying to see as much as possible on a short visit. How fortunate it is to spend most of the year just an hour or so away in Lucca, making it easy to return over time, taking in a new museum, seeing just a few artistic highlights, or returning to a favorite place.

One place that I have returned to over the years is the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.  There are many things to love about the Bargello; it is one of my favorite museums anywhere in the world.

First, the history.  Constructed in the 13th century as Florence’s first public building, it began its existence as a place to protect the rights of the people.  Over its long history it has served many purposes and experienced many periods of destruction and rebuilding. After its noble beginning, the palazzo was later used as a justice hall and later a prison.  Political prisoners were tried, jailed, and executed here up until the late 1700’s when the death penalty was banned. Perhaps the most famous political convict was Dante. He received a death sentence here in the year 1302; luckily he had fled Florence and the sentence was never carried out. Instead, he was exiled from Florence.   

The courtyard, looking up to the loggia

Since 1865 the palazzo has served as a museum, housing treasures created by some of Italy’s most famous artists.  Even before viewing the art, the palazzo is magnificent for its architecture.  Standing in the courtyard, with it’s central well, coats of arms, and grand staircase, and looking up toward the first-floor loggia, is a wonder.  Many of the pieces here are recreations of works that had been destroyed during the years when the Bargello served as a prison. 

Ammannati’s Juno Fountain, 1555. (Juno and the peacocks are copies)

Detail, courtyard ceiling

Other pieces were relocated here from various buildings in Florence, including the Juno fountain which was originally meant for the Palazzo Vecchio. Over time it was deconstructed and the 8 statues scattered to different locations. Now, with all the figures reunited, it is a perfect fit in the Bargello’s grand courtyard. 

The courtyard is a peaceful spot to sit and enjoy the start of a visit to this wonderful and generally uncrowded museum. Informational signs, in English, provide an overview of the buildings history, a good beginning to any visit.

The floors above the courtyard hold an abundance of treasures.  I think of the Bargello as primarily a sculpture museum, for it is the sculpture that pulls me back time and again.  The sculptures include a who’s who list of Italy’s most famous artists – Bernini, Donatello, Cellini, Michaelangelo, Verrocchio, Giambologna. 

Bronze Birds by Giambologna, c. 1570

Many of the most famous works can be found in the Donatello Room, originally the palazzo’s grand hall, including both a bronze and a marble David by Donatello. While this room showcases several works by Donatello, others are also represented including the competition pieces by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti for the Baptistery doors. The Donatello room is newly refurnished, with this David right in the center.

A bronze David by Donatello, c.1440 (the marble St. George in the background is also by Donatello)

There is much more to see at the Bargello in addition to sculpture.  There are Della Robbia glazed ceramics, paintings, decorative arts, ivories and paintings. 

A small chapel, with frescoes by Giotto, was where prisoners would be given last rites prior to their execution. Today, it houses religious artifacts including an intricate carved choir lectern.

Il Pescatore (The Fisher Boy), Vincenzo Gemito 1877

The photos here are just a hint of what can be found in the Bargello.  So many visitors to Florence head to the Accademia to see the David and the Uffizi for the famous paintings, and both are wonderful.  But to miss the Bargello is a shame. 

The art there can be viewed close up – but don’t be like the tourists I saw reach beyond the rope to touch a marble statue!  The guard was right on that and after she scolded them she looked at me, shook her head, and said “every day there is at least one like that”.  I would hate to see all these wonderful works of art get hidden behind glass enclosures because of visitors who don’t keep their hands to themselves. 

As they are displayed today, it is a joy to be able to walk around each piece, admiring the different angles and perspectives. I am headed back to Florence for a week’s stay at the end of October with a friend who is a first time visitor.  You can bet the Bargello is one of the places we will go.

The Dancing Cherub, a more playful Donatello