Lucca’s old market building, the Mercato del Carmine, began life in the 14th century as a convent for an order of nuns, the Carmelitani Scalzi (Barefoot Carmelites). The nuns left in the mid 1800’s and after that the building was used for a variety of purposes. Once a bell tower, now a clock tower A new use was found for the abandoned convent in the 1930’s. It was repurposed to house Lucca’s big community market which had previously been located in Piazza Anfiteatro (the site of the former Roman Amphitheater). The nun’s cloister was enclosed with a large roof to shelter the market. The campa ..read more

This unique Easter Rabbit sits outside of an Art Shop in Lucca.  Easter week weather in Italy can be hard to predict. It can be warm, sunny, and springlike, especially when the holiday falls later in April.  Or it can be dark and stormy.  I can recall times when my day-before-Easter grocery shopping took place in a torrential downpour and others when the spring-like temperatures and sunny skies made shopping for my Easter brunch a delight. With Easter coming early this year, at the end of March, it is no surprise that the weeks leading up to the holiday were cloudy, rainy, an ..read more

The Piazza del Salvatore is a busy hub of activity in Lucca. It’s all too easy to focus on Nottolini’s fountain and the graceful statue of the Naiade on top and miss the church of San Salvatore which sits across the piazza. A painted door in Piazza del Salvatore, Lucca A couple of days in Lucca last week were rain free – perfect for catching up on errands.   My tasks included a stop at the lavandaria (cleaners), a quick visit to a local shop to buy a pretty pot for the chives I’ll grow on a sunny windowsill, a meet up with a friend for a coffee (there may have been a pastry involve ..read more

Mimosa blossoms are the traditional gift for the Festa della Donna in Italy Last Friday, March 8th, was International Women’s Day. The origins of the day lie in 1922 as a protest against the terrible working conditions that led to the deaths of women working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York.  First celebrated in Italy in the 1920’s, the United Nations proclaimed it an international day in 1977.  Today the day recognizes the many contributions of women – social, political, cultural  – as well as the persistent issues that women face. In Italy the day is marked in ..read more

March arrived to Lucca along with gray skies and rain The month of March starts off slow in Lucca and then builds towards the first hints of spring, an explosion of flowers, the beginning of the busy visitor season and, finally, Spring. But so far, the first week of March isn’t feeling much different than February.  It’s still raining.  With gray skies and bare trees, most of the color comes from a rainbow of umbrellas.  And while the temperatures are slowly creeping up, it is still chilly. Perfect weather for soup, pots of tea, afternoon naps, and catching up with friends.&nb ..read more

Spring is just around the corner and all of Tuscany will soon be in bloom. It’s a perfect time to visit. This view is from Fattoria Fubbiano in the hills just beyond Lucca. The end of February, the longest short month of the year, is in sight.  The last few days have been damp and chilly in Lucca. Today, there is a constant rain pouring down. That makes it perfect weather for staying inside and writing.   I always forget that 50 degrees in Lucca, with its deeply shaded medieval streets, cold stone buildings, and dampness, feels a lot colder than 50 degrees in the sunshine and dryne ..read more

La Tigre in Gabbia (The Caged Tiger) by the carrista Luca Bertozzi peers out from the loggia in Piazza San Michele, Lucca 2024 Venice, 2020  If you come to Italy during the month of February, be prepared for some excitement.  February is the month of Carnevale - the big post-Christmas season event that brings fun and celebration in anticipation of the more restrained period of the 40 days of Lent which precede Easter.  Picture processions, costumes, fantastic masks, balls, parties, sweets and lots and lots of confetti.  The character of the celebrations may vary, from the ..read more

Afternoon tea with date “pudding” Before I get to the description and recipe for this British-with-an-Italian-twist sweet, we must take a minute to talk about the word “pudding”. Date “pudding”, served alongside some fruit, goes well with a morning coffee. I remember being quite confused hearing my friend, a lovely English lady whom I was visiting in Hampshire, ask her cat if he was ready for his pudding. Pudding for a cat?  I must have misunderstood.  My friend explained that in this context pudding simply meant a mid-afternoon treat. Not literally what I thought of as a pudding ..read more

Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence. It’s hard to have a favorite church in Florence.  It may even be wrong to choose a favorite considering the number of historic and significant churches in the city.  The Duomo, officially the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, with its magnificent façade and campanile, is famous for good reason.  Consider Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Santissima Annunziata – and those are just the basilicas inside the historic center.  Add in smaller churches, chapels, baptisteries, oratorios, bell towers and wonderful churches outside the center and, w ..read more

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