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

Three Flights, 20 Hours, One Ocean and Two Continents Later

There are still plenty of tourists in town, enjoying the late summer weather.

 Whew!  I am finally back in Lucca after being away for most of the summer.  Getting here required 3 flight segments and 20+ hours of travel across the Atlantic from North America to Italy, with a layover in Germany along the way.  I don’t really enjoy the travel, or the jet lag, but the result - arrival back home to Lucca - is always worth it. 

The first glimpse of the city walls brings instant relaxation after a long journey. Stepping into my little Italian apartment is a delight.  The city of Lucca offers a warm welcome and this year it greeted me with wonderfully mild temperatures and blue skies streaked with white clouds.

One of the first things I do when I return after a period away is to walk through town to see what has changed.  And there is always change, even in an old Medieval town like Lucca.  But many things stay the same and it is good to revisit some of my favorite places.  I am glad to see that my favorite shop for old prints and framing, Cornice e Quadri on Via Sant’Andrea, remains open.  It’s a Lucca classic and the place to search for historic city maps and drawings, one of which hangs on my wall in New Mexico to remind me of Lucca when I am away.

It’s always a relief to visit one of Lucca’s historic shops. This is the best place to find antique maps and prints!

The Torre Guinigi and the Old Mercato building stood ready to welcome me back.  I know that some day when I return I will find the scaffolding down and the restoration of the Mercato complete, but this was not the year for that. When I first moved to Lucca, in 2018, I remember thinking that by the next year the Mercato work would be finished. Silly me! That was before I learned about the realities of restoration work in Italy.

There is one spot on the wall that always calls my name on my first day back.  It is “my” bench just above the Palazzo Pfanner with a good view into the gardens.  My friends know that I claim this bench, so much so that they’ve even sent me photos of other people sitting there when I am away.  Such a tease! 

When even the nuns “steal” your bench ! (Thanks to the Palmieris for this photo)

On my way to the wall I passed by the steps in front of the Church of San Frediano – just in time to see a bride and groom having their photos taken.  Later I passed by the decorated car that will whisk them away from the city after their photos.  It’s always fun to catch these happy moments.

But the very best welcome came in the form of Murabilia – Lucca’s fall garden show.  It is one of my favorite annual events and marks the end of the summer season and the beginning of autumn. 

A host of fall products are offered – braids of garlic, bright pepperoncini plants, bags of pecans, dried porcini mushrooms, vines full of grapes or figs, baskets of crisp apples, and colorful gourds and pumpkins.  There are also trees for fall plantings and educational displays about agricultural products. 

Vendors sell artisanal products – art, crafts, brooms, linens, soaps, etc.  The booths selling spices from around the world scent the air.  Wonderful cheeses, salumi, and breads are available too. 

This year I was able to do a tasting of Balsamic Vinegars from Modena at one of the booths.  The 5 that I tasted ranged from a simple young vinegar (one you might use in a salad dressing) to an exquisite one aged 20+ years – sweet and thick, it would make a fine digestive after a meal.  A drop on a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano would be heavenly. That one was beyond my budget at €100 per bottle, but the one aged 12+ years was just right in both flavor and price and that’s the bottle that went home with me. The small bottle will last me for a year, doled out just a few drops at a time.

No late summer week in Lucca would be complete without a gelato, right? In September the Uva Fragola grapes are ripe and they make the best gelato! Over the next week I will be busy catching up with friends and settling back into my Italian life. It’s good to be back 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

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)