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.

Verde Mura Is Where Spring Gardens Begin

Some recurring events serve to mark time, shepherding in a new year or a new season.  One such event in Lucca is the annual spring garden show, Verde Mura. 

Each April, Verde Mura takes place atop the walls that surround Lucca.  Just about anything one wants for a garden – whether garden means a small herb patch, several long rows of vegetables, a bed full of flowers, or a small stand of fruit trees – is available.  

With garden art and assorted crafts on display, there is little need to look elsewhere for spring garden inspiration.

This year - surprise - there were chickens and one very loud rooster !

Readers of this blog may recognize scenes from Verde Mura because I’ve written about it in past years.   But the event always seems to bring something new, not to mention it really does mark the beginning of spring for me, and so each year I go, camera in hand, learning about everything from heirloom beans to new varieties of tulips and daffodils.  

Sadly, I don’t have space for a garden in my tiny Lucca apartment. I can sometimes manage a few potted herbs, but that’s about all.  Despite that, I always come home with at least a gorgeous bunch of flowers, some treats from the food vendors (this year delicious black pepper and almond taralli), and the joy of having spent a few hours on a spring morning up on Lucca’s walls immersed in the colors and scents of the Verde Mura.