25 Years of Murabilia in Lucca

Plants, art, crafts, vintage items - there is something for everyone at Murabilia

September is always a special month in Lucca, full of festivals and events.  One of the first in any September is Murabilia.  This year markets the 25th edition of the annual event which showcases all things needed for the fall garden, patio, terrace or home. 

I can’t claim to have attended all 25 of them (if only!), but since establishing a second home here in 2018 I have gone almost every year.  Murabilia offers the first promise of fall, and cooler weather, to come. 

The event has grown over the years from a small local garden show to a major event with exhibitors from throughout Italy and beyond.  While home gardening is still a major theme, horticultural preservation, conservation, education, and “green” culture have also become key components of the event.

In addition to all the displays and educational presentations, there is a festive atmosphere with booths selling foods, crafts, home and garden art, textiles, and vintage items. 

 And chickens!  Everyone seems to love the chickens which come in all colors, sizes, and degrees of fluffiness. Kids and adults alike linger by the chickens.

Being from New Mexico, I am always drawn to the peppers. And while they aren’t being roasted as they are right now back in New Mexico (I sure miss that aroma), there are some familiar sights like jalapenos and habaneros.  New to me were the little whitish-yellow ones called Dente di Coyote (Coyote teeth). Now if only I could find some Hatch style green chile to roast and dry.

 Murabilia is a good place for stocking the kitchen too.  With stands of woven garlic, huge aglione (elephant garlic), red onions, cheese, salami and sausages it helps to bring a shopping bag.  For fall decorating, it is hard to beat the variety of pumpkins and gourds for sale.

 The festival also has great take-away snacks.  Paper cones filled with cheese or salami cubes and fruit filled cups.  What could be more refreshing on a hot late summer day? And of course there is a gelato truck.

For me, the flowers remain the super stars of the event.  The variety in form, color, leaf shape, and texture makes wandering through the displays a joyful way to spend a morning.

September will hold many more special events: a month long carnival just outside the walls, a major religious procession, and several types of markets. 

Murabilia is the perfect way to kick off the month known here as Settembre Lucchese.

The Colorful Month of June

Agriturismo La Volpe e l’Uva, near Perugia. I sure enjoyed my morning coffee on this patio.

I’ve spent time the past couple of weeks in both Tuscany and Umbria, enjoying the late spring / early summer that is one of the loveliest of seasons in Italy.  Temperatures are quite warm (but not yet uncomfortably hot) during the day, with cool mornings and evenings.  A perfect beginning to “aperitivo season” when the evenings are ideal for enjoying a get together with friends sitting outside on a lively piazza.  Bright orange Aperol Spritzes are now dotting tables everywhere, adding a definite burst of summer color.

One of the best things about June in Italy is the range of colors painted by nature as the trees and vines get their leaves and the flowers bloom.  Look closely and you can find small clusters of grapes forming, the earliest hints of olives, and tiny figs that hold the promise of August sweetness.  The scent of Jasmine in bloom is the best sort of perfume.

 The countryside is stunning as the bright yellow blooms of Ginestra (in English we would call it Scottish or Spanish Broom) mingle with the greens of the vines and olive trees.

The beautiful countryside near Perugia in Umbria filled with Ginestra in bloom

 In towns, flowers fill window boxes and pots.  They spill over walls, sneak into crevices, and take over abandoned doorways.

Lucca in June

 Even the railroad tracks are dressed up by the last of the spring poppies.

 In Lucca, the garden of Palazzo Pfanner is the place to go for the best variety of colors and flower varieties.  Especially stunning are the rows of hortensia (hydrangea) in white, pink, blue, and purple.

 I enjoyed seeing June burst into color in Italy.  Next up for me will be the desert blooms of New Mexico; I’ll enjoy those until I return to Lucca in a few weeks.

Daydreaming of Spring in Italy

Cloudy and cold in Albuquerque. I need some spring!

Most years I am well into February before the “winter blahs” hit me, but for some reason they’ve come early this year.  It might just be the weather - the last 24 hours have brought cold, rain, hail, gray skies, and overnight snow to New Mexico where I am visiting my family this month. 

Today it is cold, windy, and overcast with intermittent snowflakes. Usually snowy days in New Mexico are gorgeous, especially once the sun comes out and makes everything sparkle. But today there is not enough snow to create a pretty winter scene and no clearing skies to bring the sparkle.  It is just cold and dreary.  It is a good day to stay inside, sip some chai, write a blog post, and daydream about spring – sunshine, green leaves on trees, flowers – along with spring travel plans.  And that is exactly what I am doing today.  

These little yellow blossoms are one of the first signs of spring along Lucca’s walls

As for travel, I am finalizing plans for spending two weeks in Trieste in early March with a friend from Albuquerque. It is a part of Italy that I have never visited, with a unique culture that is part Italian and part Eastern European.  I have been warned that it will still be chilly and quite windy, so may not quite bring me the dose of spring I am craving but it does give me something to look forward to. The trip is centered around some time in a special language program for seniors age 60+ and it includes several excursions into the surrounding areas. I’ll let you know how it goes!

March is the time for Camellias, especially in the small village of Sant’Andrea di Compito

Flower art in Spello for the Infiorata (photo from the Le Infiorate website)

I will get the taste of spring I need in the first week of June when I will do a few days of cooking classes on an agriturismo outside of Perugia in Umbria.  That program will include a visit to the famous Infiorata in Spello, a celebration of the Feast of Corpus Domini, where the streets are paved in designs made from flower petals. .  Visiting Spello for the Infiorata has long been on my list of things to experience, and this is the first time the opportunity has worked out for me.  Definitely a spring event to look forward to.

April poppies in Umbria last spring

In the meantime, I am looking back on springtime photos from a variety of places in Italy.

The Iris garden in Florence is opened for just a few weeks in May each year

They are chasing away this gloomy, cold day and making me smile. 

I hope these hints of spring in Italy make you smile too.  And just maybe they will get you started planning some travel!

Parma is lovely in Spring, especially in the Giardino Ducal

Spring Tulips in Lucca

One Day in Spello

Spello just may be the perfect Umbrian hill town. 

It has layers of history - old Roman gates, ancient city walls, and meandering streetscapes lined with Medieval sandstone houses. Art filled churches stand atop pre-Christian temples.  

Small artisan galleries and shops line the streets in the historic center. And the flowers! It seems that every street, window, doorstep, and wall are filled with green plants and flowers. Then there are the views. Situated high on a hill, the vistas are wide, green, and gorgeous. No wonder Spello is included in the list of I Borghi Più Belli d’Italia (The most beautiful villages in Italy).  

Two gastronomic things add to Spello’s charm – wine and olive oil. The local wine is Sagrantino, a bold red. The olive oil is also bold – a stronger, spicier variety than the Tuscan oils I am used to. Made from Moraiolo olives, the flavor was wonderful. I had a chance to sample both during lunch at Enoteca Properzio, a great place for tasting both the wines and olive oils with lots of info provided by the staff. Thanks to J. Gorwoda for some of the photos below. I was so busy enjoying my pasta that I forgot to snap any other photos at the restaurant.

With only 1 day to spend in Spello during a week exploring Umbria, I didn’t have a chance to fully explore all that the city has to offer.   The highlights of the day included:

• Wandering the steep and winding Medieval streets. Spello is full of twisting alleys, courtyards, and squares. One alley, the Vicolo dei Baci, must see lots of kissing couples. The architecture throughout town is lovely, and everywhere there are flowers.

• The Baglioni Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The interior of the chapel is stunning and filled with frescoes by Pinturicchio.  One problem – no photographs are allowed.  It took all my willpower to leave my camera in my purse. The photos below are from the web. Best to see it in person!

Just outside the Baglioni chapel is a small garden, Giardiano Hortus. A graceful gate marks the entrance; a series of brick arches the perimeter. It’s a quiet, simple space that made for a perfect break in the afternoon. Also fun watching this little boy picking a wild flower for his mom.

One thing I did not get to see during my visit was Spello’s famous Infiorata, the festival of flowers that marks the feast of Corpus Domini (Body of Christ).  Many towns have infiorate on this day, but Spello’s is one of the most famous. For the festival, the streets are carpeted with elaborate designs made of flowers. Teams plan their designs for months and work through the preceding night to create the displays. The date changes from year to year, generally held on the 9th Sunday after Easter. This year it was on June 21-22, in 2026 it should fall earlier in June, the 6 – 7th. I hope to be there to experience the Infiorata and to explore Spello in greater depth. There is so much more to see.

Street art in Spello proclaims that happiness is contagious. I agree!

Wandering Through Parma

When I think of Parma, located in the Emilia-Romagna region and one of my favorite places to visit, many things come to mind. There is of course the food – delicate buttery slices of Prosciutto di Parma, chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and beautiful filled pastas. If you can’t eat well in Parma then, well, I hardly know what to say. 

For anyone who enjoys food tours, Parma is a great place to book an outing to see how Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Aceto Balsamico are made. And, if you look down when walking through town, you will spot some tiles related to Parma’s food scene set into the pavement.

 Parma has wonderful museums, theaters, an annual Verdi opera festival, a beautiful cathedral and a stunning baptistery. The architecture is lovely and colorful and the city has an energetic vibe. And, if that were not enough, it also has fabulous public spaces and parks.

I took advantage of many of those things on my recent visit, but also spent some time just wandering through the city and enjoying a variety of neighborhoods, street scenes, and green spaces.

I especially enjoyed wandering through the Borgo del Gallo, a small neighborhood within the historic center of Parma. Just off one on Parma’s main streets, stepping into the alleys of Borgo del Gallo feels like stepping into a small village. The narrow street is lined with shops, markets, and cafes. It is a lively hub of activity with a unique character.

In the center of Parma, just in front of the Pilotta Museum complex is a public space centered around a huge shallow reflecting pool. Several monuments anchor the edges of the space. It is a place where locals sit and socialize, where children play, and a good place to cool off on a warm day or rest after a visit to the fabulous museums of the Pilotta.

Palazzo Ducale, Parma

My last wander took me to Parma’s Oltretorrente neighborhood. A literal translation of the word Oltretorrente would be “beyond the torrent”. It is the old part of the city, on the west side of the river that flows through town. My destination was the Parco Ducale, the park that surrounds a Palazzo that was once the home of Parma’s Dukes.

The park is Parma’s biggest green space. Lined with trees, it is a shady place filled with families, students, walkers, bicyclists, and dogs.  At one end is the Ducal Palace (now home to Parma’s police) and at the other a small man-made island with a central fountain. 

In between are grassy areas, walking paths, a playground, and an outdoor cafe. It is a fabulous spot for being outside in nature, relaxing, and people watching. 

Each of these spots are important to Parma’s history and day-to-day life. For a visitor, they make for a nice glimpse into the life of the city and a respite from a busy day of more “touristy” activities.

Astronomical clock, Piazza Garibaldi, Parma