Lucca through time – February

Posted on March 30, 2021 by admin

January has come and gone and it’s now February, the second month of the year. Do you remember the sculpted medieval panels in the loggia of the Cathedral of Lucca, San Martino? I’m sure you do. February is depicted by a fisherman, intent upon catching a nice-sized fish with his fishing pole. Why was fishing chosen as a means to procure food in winter? In the Middle Ages, more so than today, the territory surrounding Lucca was extremely water-rich. Streams, brooks, the many tributaries of the Serchio River, nearby lakes and marshes supplied many varieties of fish. Even in winter, nature offered opportunities to find nourishment. And today, our territory is being revitalized by the return of many species of animals which had been absent from it for a very long time. In particular, the green area immediately outside...

Lucca through time – January

Posted on March 16, 2021 by admin

Here we are in the month of January. The first month of the year, and in the panels of the Duomo of Lucca it is represented by a farmer warming himself in front of a fire. Winter can be cold and bleak and shows its true colors and multiple faces in the city and in the countryside in this stretch of Tuscany which lies between the mountains and the sea. The city appears monumental and immobile due to a diminished presence of people. The countryside appears even colder and more hostile. Yet, both have a unique and irresistible appeal, recalling emotions of long-ago, human and collected, with an invitation to remain safely at home, cozy and snug. Even animals, be it city or country, adapt to winter mode as did medieval man, as does contemporary man today. Some ancient...

Lucca through time

Posted on March 9, 2021 by admin

This year, more so than in past decades, we were forced to change the pace of our lifestyles. We had to modify our way of working and even, what became, our long breaks of free time. It sometimes seemed as if we were frozen in time. At this point, life has placed us in these particular circumstances, offering us a chance to savor the passing of time in a different way, almost as in days of long-ago. Perhaps it is for this reason, that we, who tell the stories of our territory and of its past inhabitants on a daily basis, began studying the medieval panels of the months in the loggia of the Duomo of Lucca more carefully. It is almost as if that time of yore has come back, in order that we reflect more carefully on...