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.

Suddenly Summer

Just an interesting display down a shady street, outside of an antique shop

The Italian expression all’improvviso means “suddenly”.  To say improvvisamente estate means suddenly summer, and that perfectly describes the change in weather over the last week.  It seems we went from cool and often rainy days requiring jackets and scarves, to sun and heat, dresses and sandals almost overnight. 

Over the years I’ve learned to cope with the Italian summer heat and humidity (coming from the desert of New Mexico, the humidity is still a struggle for me). The key to schedule errands and walks in the mornings, social gatherings in the evenings, and middays at home with fans and the “pinguino” (portable AC unit) running. Truth be told, the pinguino isn’t very effective in cooling my apartment due to the really high ceilings, but if I sit right in front of it, it helps. 

So does the Italian habit of closing the shutters and curtains in the mornings, especially on the east facing windows, to keep the house cooler.  I’ll sacrifice light for coolness every time.

The cafes around Piazza Napoleone are shady and the piazza is full of activity.

It also helps to walk on the most shaded streets, dashing quickly through the open and sunny piazzas where the difference is temperature is considerable. Restaurants with shaded patios, cafes with tasty iced coffee, and places with good indoor AC are invaluable on hot summer days. 

None of this is to complain though.  The sky is bright blue, the trees are green, flowers bloom throughout town, outdoor musicians provide the soundtrack, and special events and festivals (like the ceramics market this past weekend) are a weekly occurrence.

Piazza Napoleone offers both shade and liquid refreshment

Tuscany is wonderful at this time of year.  Not to mention that an Aperol Spritz, sipped on a shady piazza, has a remarkable ability to cool me down and make me sigh with contentment.

I am enjoyed morning walks, whether up on the walls or through town. I continue to be delighted by interesting details spotted while having a coffee or when turning down a small street, by small details that I may not have noticed before, by gardens that I haven’t visited since last summer, and by the general day-to-day scenes of life in Lucca. 

May June be delightful wherever we find ourselves!

This tucked away garden is a favorite, and very quiet, spot in Lucca. It’s a great place to listen to birds singing.

The Garden of Palazzo Pfanner

Garden spaces in Lucca are treasures. They are especially important for those of us who live in small apartments without outdoor space of our own. Public gardens, and private ones open to visitors, provide the opportunity to sit quietly on a bench, to enjoy the peaceful beauty of trees and flowers, or to just breath in and out, finding respite from a busy day. 

Even better if the garden sits behind a historic palazzo, surrounds a fountain spraying water high into the air, and offers views over the graceful arches of the limonaia onto Lucca’s walls above. 

The limonaia in the garden of Palazzo Pfanner

The garden of Palazzo Pfanner in Lucca is just such a spot. A private garden, it is open to visitors for a small fee. It has long been one of my favorite outdoor spaces, a perfect spot to read a book, daydream, relax, and enjoy the blooms that change from spring to summer to fall. It is also a wonderful spot to listen to a small concert or enjoy a variety of events that take place at the palazzo.

Last spring and summer the garden was closed for major renovations. It has now reopened, refreshed and ready for visitors once again.

The newly planted grass is edged with irises and rose bushes. In mid-May, the scent of roses filled the garden.

The highlight of the garden for me arrives in late May and early June when the Hydrangeas bloom. Their colors, ranging from white to pink to pale purple, all set off by bright green foliage, are stunning. They are one of the garden’s best offerings and I was happy to find that after last year’s work they remained undamaged and in place, lining walkways and walls and filling the garden with color.

Many other of the garden’s best offerings remain in their original places too – the stands of bamboo which create shady alleys and hidden corners, the towering Magnolia tree, the large terra cotta pots of lemon trees, the classic statues, and the old walls that surround the garden.

One nice change is the addition of QR codes to the plant identification markers. Click on the code for a link to information about the roses, hydrangeas, camellias, and magnolias.

Only one change left me a little sad. The run down, unrestored small brick barn area that once stored beer barrels (back when the palazzo was a beer garden) has been restored. The old brick walls have been plastered over and the area now houses a new bathroom and storage. I miss the look and history of the old rustic barn (old, left, and new on the right below). But that’s a small hiccup in this otherwise spectacular garden.

What a joy it was to once again sit in this garden! (I can’t resist a few more hydrangea photos)

The Gift of Figs

It’s fig season!   

Black figs at an Italian market

One of my strongest taste memories is of eating a ripe fig, straight from the tree and warm from the Italian sun.  It happened on a trip long before I moved to Italy. I could not tell you exactly where I was or who I was with, but I recall standing in the front yard of private home, speaking with the owner (an American who had moved to Italy), listening to his story and picking figs from his tree. I remember the taste of that fig with longing.  And its taste is interwoven with the beginnings of my dreams of moving to Italy. That was one important fig!

In Italian, a fig is a fico.  Two figs are fichi.  An albero di fichi is a fig tree.  But use these words with caution.  Substituting the wrong vowel at the end changes the meaning entirely and is quite vulgar.  Avoid that at all costs!   You may also hear the word fico used to mean “cool”.    If someone tells you “sei fico” that’s a compliment – you’re cool.

Both black and green figs grow throughout Italy, especially in the south.  There is even a wild fig tree growing beside a bridge over the Serchio river between Lucca and nearby Monte San Quirico.   Pretty tempting to pick one of those beauties.

Green and black figs at a market in Italy

 In Italy, figs are popular in both sweet and savory dishes.  They can be wrapped with prosciutto, added to a salad, baked in a crostata, or made into jam.  Figs and nuts are a popular combination, baked into a sweet roll they make a decadent but tasty prima colazione (breakfast) or dessert.

 In the US, figs are mostly grown in California and parts of the south, though they seem much less popular in the US than in Italy.   I don’t think I had ever tasted a fig before that fresh-from-the-tree one in Italy (Fig Newtons don’t count). Since I most often spend the summer months in New Mexico, where my kids and grandkids live, I usually miss out on much of the Italian fig season. 

 It was a real treat then, and a surprise, when a friend gifted me a mix of black and green figs grown in the small town of Tijeras, in the hills east of Albuquerque. I had no idea that figs grew here. The question became what to do with them.   One of the black ones, large and sweet, found its way into my morning yogurt.   But the others were saved for a late afternoon aperitivo that I was planning to host a few days later.

For the aperitivo, I cut each fig in half and topped it with mild goat cheese (softened at room temperature).  Next, a drizzle of honey.  It looked like it needed just a little something more, so the final touch was a sprinkle of chopped salted pistachios.  It could not have been more simple, yet the combination of flavors was anything but.  The black figs were larger and definitely sweeter than the green. But the green ones, firmer and a bit less sweet, were also delicious.   For a bit of added color, I added some apricots to the plate. The aperitivo was rounded out with a few other tidbits (hummus with carrots, some green olives, and a few salty pretzels).   All went well with a pitcher of Aperol Spritz. 

 My friend Julie, the giver of the gift of figs, made a variation using ricotta flavored with a little Amaretto in place of the goat cheese. She was happy with that combination and I am anxious to try it. And how pretty was her presentation?

I’ll return to Italy in August and fortunately figs will still be in season.  I am looking forward to Italian fichi con formaggio di capra (goat cheese) e pistacchio. 

Sunday Morning at Lucca’s Antiques Market

I am trying to imagine how this old wheel barrow would have been used.

The monthly antiques market in Lucca takes place the weekend of the 3rd Sunday of each month. If planning a visit pay careful attention to the calendar - count Sundays, not Saturdays, else you might miss it!

Strolling through the market, which spills across several large piazzas in town, is a once a month ritual for me. The small size of my apartment in Lucca doesn’t allow me to buy much, but I always have fun looking.

Some vendors show up every month with similar wares - glass demijohns, old cameras, silver serving wear, chandeliers, glassware, tea cups, old brass, vintage clothing. But I often find either something new and different or a particularly eye catching object. That’s what keeps the market interesting month after month !

Blue skies and mild temperatures enhance the experience of a market stroll.

At the June market, I was really taken by this vintage brass espresso machine. If only I had room for it in my tiny kitchen.

And this - is it a small Grappa press ? I imagine a home grape producer using it to press his leftover grape skins to make some excellent small batch grappa. A perfect hobby for a grape growing Nonno.

I’ve seen several metal chickens and other animal sculptures over the years, but this is the first cockatoo I have found. At least cockatoo is my best guess for this yellow plumed bird.

I would love to know his story.

The assortment of intriguing objects, and the artful way they are displayed, brings out my camera every time. These are just a few of the interesting finds from the June market.

As an added bonus last month, a brass band, complete with pompom girls, marched straight through the market. They stopped in front of Lucca’s Duomo to entertain a crowd of market goers. Just a little extra fun on market day !