Falling in Love with Lucca

Falling in Love with Lucca

PRIME – February 2013
By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
Birthplace of famed Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini, the historic walled section of the city of Lucca, located in the heart of the Tuscan region of northern Italy, epitomizes everything one could imagine about a quaint Italian village.

Brightly colored blooms spill from the window boxes along its narrow cobblestone streets. Its sunny plazas are festooned with umbrella-dotted outdoor caf s. There seems to be an imposing church on nearly every corner. Along its byways, vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables from open-air stalls.

On the Sunday morning we visited the city – the first stop on my family's long-planned and anticipated trip to Italy and Greece – the scent of freshly baked bread and espresso spilled out from the bakeries we passed.

Our tour began as our guide, a middle aged local man named Giuseppe, led us up a steep hill to the top of the city wall. Originally constructed by the Romans and fortified during the Middle Ages, this stone and earthen structure is, remarkably, still intact. According to Giuseppe, Lucca holds the local distinction of never having been attacked by a rival city in the province, hence the pristine condition of the nearly four kilometers of protective wall, which includes six beautifully preserved, massive gates and 11 bastions.

Today, Lucca's city wall is topped with earth and grass to form a walking and bike path; popular, we noted on our visit, even early in the morning as a recreation spot for tourists and locals alike.

As we headed down the slope toward the city itself, Giuseppe told us Lucca is known for its churches – 100 to be exact – with many of the more impressive examples located within the older part of the city. As we meandered through what seemed to us a maze of narrow, cobblestone streets, we passed several smaller ones on our way to the city's central square, the Piazza San Michele, home of San Michele in Foro, a massive marble church, the largest in Lucca.

Built at the site of – and named after – the original Roman forum that anchored the city's street grid in ancient times, this church features an imposing statue of Michael the Archangel – with articulating wings – at its pinnacle.

Begun in the 11th century and completed in the 14th century, San Michele in Foro is noted as the best example of Romanesque construction in Italy despite its rather strange mix of styles – simple graphic shapes on the first level, ornate animal-inspired columns and arches, as well as busts of prominent politicians of the day – on the higher levels. In contrast to all this external finery, when we peeked through the massive door, the interior of the church was simple pink marble, with a few paintings and statues as well as a 12th century painted wooden cross as the main focal point of the central apse. Giuseppe noted that because the builders had spent so much to renovate the imposing front fa ade, there was little left to update the interior decoration of the church.

This was not so when our walking tour brought us to the second most famous church in Lucca, San Frediano. Crowned by a 13th century Byzantine-style gold leaf mosaic on its bell tower, the interior of this otherwise plain building features ornate columns and carvings, including a huge marble baptismal font depicting scenes from the Bible, and a separate chapel dedicated to the body of one of the city's many saints, St. Zita, patron saint of domestic servants.

In contrast to San Michele in Foro, the interior of this church was breathtaking, and our visit inside our first real taste of the talent and skill behind the creation of houses of worship in Italy.

Still, for us as Americans, it seemed rather odd to sit in an ornate chapel facing a glass coffin housing the mummified remains of a 13th century family servant canonized for her kindness to the poor – she purportedly saved the scraps of the family's bread and gave them to the less fortunate daily – and her piety in the face of ridicule by fellow workers. But, as I explained to my 12-year-old son, part of the experience of traveling is learning about the customs of others.

We and our fellow "tourmates" sat silently in the chapel for a time, marveling at the beauty of the alcove and the church itself, then headed out to view the site of a 1st century Roman amphitheater a few blocks away.

At first glance the Piazza Anfiteatro looks like any other plaza in the city, just round rather than square.

It's when you really look at the buildings ringing the cobblestones that this piazza seems different. The stucco-coated structures, though differing in height, form an unbroken ring, with only a few arched entryways leading into the square.

Giuseppe explained that these homes and shops were constructed atop the ruins of the original amphitheater, which, like many Roman theaters, was converted to a fort in Medieval times. To prove his point, he led us to a portion of one of the archways where the stucco had been removed to reveal the original Roman stonework, and we saw marble marked with Roman numerals, apparently an ancient gate number.
Today he said the piazza, which was quiet and nearly deserted during the morning hours of our visit, is the site of many open-air caf s and host a popular music festival in the summer months.

To our regret, our time in Lucca was far too short, with no opportunity to savor a cappuccino in one of the inviting sidewalk caf s, climb the city's famed observation tower or even visit the birthplace of Puccini – his home is maintained as a museum – and we had to satisfy ourselves with a brief stop in the plaza housing a large bronze statue of the maestro as we made our way back through Lucca's winding streets to our waiting motor coach. The city of Pisa, with its famed leaning tower, was our next stop that day.

But should fortune afford us an opportunity to return to Italy in the future, Lucca will be at the top of our list for a long return visit.

For more information about Lucca, including photos of many of its sights, visit the website, www.italyguides.it/us/italy/tuscany/lucca/lucca.htm.

To see a short video of my family's tour of Lucca, click on the YouTube video above.

Get a taste of Italy close to home!

Throughout 2013, the Italian Consulate is sponsoring 'The Year of Italian Culture,' a countrywide celebration of its country's science, technology, arts, theater, food and life at museums and exhibit halls across the country. Beginning March 6, the Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main St., Hartford, Conn., will host 'Burst of Light: Caravaggio and His Legacy' featuring five works by renowned painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio 'St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy,' 'Martha and Mary Magdelen,' 'Salome Receives the Head of St. John the Baptist,' 'The Denial of St. Peter' and 'Saint John the Baptist.'

Exhibit hours are Wednesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,and first Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for students older than age 13 or those with college IDs and free for children younger than 12.

For more information, call 860-278-2670 or visit the museum's website at www.thewadsworth.org.