Carnevale 2025

Corso Garibaldi is the street where the Magnolias bloom in Lucca.

We are on the cusp of a change of seasons in Italy.  No, not winter into spring quite yet (though here in Lucca the Magnolias are just beginning to bloom).  I mean the shift from the season of Carnevale into the season of Lent. 

The last Carnevale events in Lucca and Viareggio are scheduled for the first week of March, a last bit of fun and folly just before the seriousness of Lent begins on the 5th. 

In Lucca, the biggest Carnival event was the Sfilata delle Maschere (Parade of Masks) on February 23rd.  The procession began along Lucca’s historic walls and slowly worked its way to the center of town, ending in a big celebration in Piazza San Michele. 

The sfilata involved much more than just masks.  Viareggio sent groups of costumed performers and some of their smaller floats.

 While the huge floats in Viareggio’s parades require big crews to operate them and move them along, the ones sent to Lucca were the smaller carri (wagons) that take just one or two persons to operate. 

The parade began with the arrival of Burlamacco and Ondina, the official mascots of the event.  Their arrival was followed by a marching band and a special float – a large leopard created especially for Lucca.

This leopard was one of the biggest floats, requiring a tractor to pull it along the parade route.

Then came groups of costumed dancers and performers.  Could I tell you exactly what some of these groups represented?  Not a chance – but all were entertaining and, in the tradition of Viareggio’s Carnevale, a bit political, with a dash of the allegorical, and a whole lot of wild.

 One group of carri, each with a single person steering it, represented the spoils of war and the big money interests that favor it (at least that is my interpretation). The giant money hungry pig was certainly impressive. The sign on his float translates to “Lunch is served. As long there is war there is hope”. His waiters served up barrels of oil and tanks. This type of social commentary is exactly what I expect from Viareggio during Carnevale.

My favorite group of floats brought graceful acrobats twirling high above the crowd.  The were called In Equilibrio Sopra La Follia which translates to Balanced Above the Madness.  Seemed an appropriate theme for this year to me. 

The final float was the largest.  A train full of paper mâché people waving to the crowd.

Alongside the parade, the crowd included lots of costumed children and adults too. 

What a fun way to celebrate Carnevale before the much more sedate season of Lent arrives.

Keeping Busy on Cold Winter Days in Tuscany

Watching kids enjoy the giostra (carousel) on nice days is a good pastime.

It’s important to make the most of the cold January days in Lucca, even the rainy ones. 

While the heavy periods of rain have definitely kept me indoors at times, lighter rains and clear periods see me heading out for walks, window shopping, photography, meeting up with friends, watching the giostra (carousel) go round and round, and looking for general inspiration.

The monthly antiques market was a great diversion in between rain showers on a cold and cloudy day earlier this month.  Many of the vendors are the same from month to month, but a scavenger hunt to search for new and unusual finds is always fun.  

Cooking is a good rainy-day activity and, after finding some really nice guanciale in the market, I’ve been working on perfecting my pasta carbonara skills. But sometimes eating out is a good rainy-day activity too.

Pasta is cold weather comfort food and Macelleria Pucci is a butcher shop / restaurant that makes a great southern Italian spaghetti with polpettini (little meatballs). Lunch there with friends was a treat as it is unusual to find this dish in northern Italy. I requires lots of rainy afternoon walks to balance out those pasta calories!

Catching up with friends after being away from Italy over the holidays has been great too.  Lucca has lots of cafes, perfect for meeting over a cup of coffee, pot of tea, or glass of wine.  The indoor cafes are warm and cozy and have led to some great chats about world issues with locals at the next tables.  It is always interesting to get the Italian perspective on US and World events.  And it is great for practicing my Italian.

 A stop at the Saturday flower market, on one of the few sunny days this past weekend, brought a touch of spring and some bright color into my apartment, a necessity on these winter days.

The Saturday flower market in Piazza San Michele is great in any season

One of my favorite winter cold weather activities is planning spring travel and I’ve been busy doing just that.  Spring in Emilia- Romagna and Umbria is a welcome thought on these cold days. And the planning is almost as much fun as the travel will be.

 My book club selection for the month is The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli.  It has transported me to Florence in the late 1400s and Paris in the 1930s.  A great escape on a cold or cloudy day.

 And for real escapism, day dreaming about spring blossoms is hard to beat.  Photos can make the gray skies fade away and bring a reminder that spring is just around the corner.  I think that readers in the frigid parts of the US and Canada might appreciate these reminders as much as I do.  Stay warm everyone!

Late Winter in Lucca

Hard rain outside my window kept me inside with a good book!

As February turns into March, winter is making a last stand here in Tuscany.   Some areas, especially up in the hills, have seen snow this week. 

Here in Lucca there has been no snow, just gray, cloudy skies and rain ranging from a drizzle to a hard downpour. The temperatures have been made even more chilly by the wind.  It is definitely still winter coat, hat, and scarf weather.  Not exactly the early spring weather I had hoped to find on my return to Lucca after several weeks away.

But, no complaints.  I am happy to be back in Lucca no matter the weather.  In fact, I rather like Lucca in the rain. 

The gloomy days have been perfect for staying inside, reading, sipping tea, and doing some baking.  Well, at least it was perfect until the night I turned my dishwasher on, forgetting that I also had my space heater going.  Poof – out went the power.  Picture a night without lights or heat, too late to poke around the cantina (basement) trying to find the big electric panel with the main breaker for my apartment.  Fortunately, I had a good flashlight and lots of candles.  Since the gas stove was still working, I was able to boil water to fill a hot water bottle, a fine way to keep warm through a cold night. All was sorted out the next morning when the sun came up and a neighbor showed me where to find the main electric panel down in the cantina.  Lessons learned!

Rainy, chilly, and nearly deserted - a small street in Lucca during late February.

Some of the things I enjoy about Lucca during the late winter:  

The city is very quiet. Few tourists visit, the streets are nearly empty (especially in bad weather).  Lucca seems to slow down.  It feels peaceful and restorative.

The bare trees surrounding Piazza Napoleone have a dramatic beauty, so different than in summer when they burst into green leafiness.  

In late February and early March they are less exuberant, but just as beautiful.

Piazza Napoleone on a rainy afternoon. No carousel rides today!

The earliest blossoms along the wall, late February.

Early signs of spring evolve daily as tender shoots of bulbs spring up, tulips and daffodils appear in the weekly flower market, mimosas erupt in yellow color, and magnolias go from bud to bloom.

The days are getting longer, reminding me that dusk hour walks on Lucca’s wall are one of my favorite things to do.

Dusk along Lucca’s walls

The rain makes puddles in the streets.

The puddles reflect the ancient buildings and the cloudy skies, temporary art thanks to Mother Nature. And kids, like children everywhere, delight in splashing through the puddles.

Magnolia blossoms sparkle with drops of rain.

Magnolias, just starting to flower, look lovely glistening with rain drops

A rainy afternoon in Lucca is the perfect excuse to pop into an elegant café for a pot of tea and a sweet treat.  Caffè Santa Zita is just the place! A bit of luxury to brighten a gray day.

February skies can be quite dramatic!

The clouds make for ever changing skies, one minute blue with gentle white clouds and then suddenly dark, fast moving and threatening.

The sound of rain lulling me to sleep, either as the best reason for an afternoon nap or a gentle entry into sleep late at night.

All of these things make late winter a wonderful time to be in Tuscany.  And yet, a few weeks from now I will feel just as inspired by the onset of spring. Living through the cycle of seasons is one of the reasons I wanted to live in Italy.  I came thinking that once (or maybe twice) around the sun would be a wonderful esperience.  4+ years later I am still pinching myself and enjoying the changing season as winter slowly creeps into spring.

Paris in Winter (Part One)

Paris in winter.  Yes, it is cold.  Very cold!  A bit gray.  Sometimes misty and rainy.  But still - it’s Paris and less crowded than in peak season.  And, as the saying goes, Paris is always a good idea! With that in mind, I recently packed my warmest coat, gloves, scarf, hat, even my winter-silk long underwear. Then I grabbed a friend and jumped on a flight from Florence to Paris for a long weekend of fun, French style.

Walking across some of Paris’s ornate bridges was definitely on my must-do list. Here, the view towards the Eiffel Tower from the Pont Alexandre III

With only 3 full days, and a goal to mostly just soak up being in Paris and visit the Christmas markets, my travel companion and I had a short “must-do” list. 

We began each day over a breakfast of croissants or baguettes with jam, along with hot cups of café crème, at one of the cafes near our hotel. Not a bad way to warm up before heading into the brisk air of wintertime Paris.

 A good way to start a visit to Paris is with a boat trip along the Seine on the Batobus.  Not to be confused with the narrated tours and tourist dinners on the Bateau Mouche, the Batobus really is a floating bus with stops near all the major sights in central Paris.  The circuit begins near the Eiffel Tower and stops near the Invalides, Musée d’Orsay, Saint-Germain des Près, the Jardin des Plantes, the Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Place de la Concorde.   It is a hop-on, hop-off service and an easy way to get around.  Along the route you pass by stunning architecture, famous monuments, houseboats, working boats, and under Paris’s many beautiful bridges.  Doing the full circuit late on a winter afternoon, as the lights slowly come on along the Seine, is a special experience.   And since the temperatures were brutally cold in December, hoping on the warm Batobus allows for views of Paris from the warmth of the boat. 

First stop, the Tuileries Garden.  Created as a private garden by Catherine de’Medici in the 1500’s, today it is an inviting public space.  With its central location, Grade Allée promenade, trees, fountains, benches, and views of the Louvre Palace, it is the place Parisians come to meet friends, stroll, picnic, entertain their children, and paint.  It is also where the huge Ferris wheel, providing views high above the city, is currently located. 

One of many intriguing sculptures in the Tuileries Garden

There were no spring flowers or children’s boats in the round basin of the Tuileries on that cold winter morning.  And yet the park was an still an elegant green space filled with sculptures and long views.  It was a lively spot too – the chairs and benches filled with people despite the chill and the sights, sounds, and delicious scents of the large nearby Christmas market. 

 From the Tuileries Garden it is an easy walk to the Musée d’Orsay, the only museum on our must-do this trip. 

The building itself, a train station in 1900’s Beaux-Arts style, is a marvel.  How amazing it must have been to arrive in Paris to that gorgeous station.  Today, it hosts large numbers of visitors and from the upper stories gives one of my favorite Paris views - looking through the giant clocks out towards the Tuileries Garden.

 The galleries display many different art forms -  sculpture, painting, furniture, photographs.  It is a lot to take in, so we concentrated on the ground floor sculptures and the incomparable collection of Impressionist paintings.   I am always most drawn to the Monet’s, but the rest of the collection, including works by Renoir, Manet, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Cassatt, Degas, are equally fascinating.  

Below are a few of my favorite Impressionist works (left to right, Country Dance by Renoir, Degas’s Little Dancer, and Field of Poppies by Monet). Enchanting works!

 A visit to Notre Dame was another must. 

Since the horrific fire it is not possible to enter the church or even approach the front doors. The damage to the roof and spire is heartbreaking.  The area surrounding the cathedral is fenced off but along the fence a series of illustrations tell the story of the reconstruction efforts. 

The fence is low enough to allow a good look at what is still a beautiful cathedral and to pick out the gargoyles that still stand watch. 

 One of the best things to do in Paris is to simply wander the neighborhoods.  More about that next week. For now, I leave you with the the best ways to warm up when you think you’ve gotten frostbite from taking your gloves off to use your camera. A stop into a little cafe for a chocolate chaud, a bowl of onion soup, or a glass of good red wine will do the trick.