Yes, August is here. It is the month when the land yields its ripest, juiciest fruit and vegetables. And so we meet up, once again, with our medieval farmer in the loggia of the Duomo of San Martino in Lucca, who is hard at work and introduces us to the theme of this month, the agriculture of Lucca and territory. Read all
The panel for the month of July, in the portico of the Duomo of Lucca, shows a farmer threshing grain by hand. Today, only a handful of our elderly can recall farmers threshing grain with the ancient hand tool called flail. Read all
Remember the panels of the months located in the portico of Lucca’s Cathedral of San Martino? Well, to describe the passage of time, there isn’t only a farmer, as we saw in January, February, and March. April is represented by a well-dressed nobleman and so is May. We’ll talk about May next month; now we’re going to concentrate on April. April is depicted by a young man, who is looking in a mirror, and makes us think about beauty, youth and vanitas. In this video, we take a look at fashion and beauty in the sacred and the profane, the past and the present, the Cathedral Museum and the Museum of Palazzo Mansi. We meet up with the eternally-damned, quintessential beauty of Lucca, Lucida Mansi. She is the expression of vanitas to the nth degree, a Dorian Gray or...
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...
There’s a new way to talk about Lucca and Tuscany: Turislucca has started its own YouTube channel! To inaugurate the channel, we’ve decided to post two videos that take a look at Lucca’s preeminent symbol, the city walls. The massive, tree-lined Renaissance walls completely surround the historical center of the city. Since 1513, this imposing piece of artistic heritage has been diligently safeguarded and to date, is one of the most important and impressive monuments in all of Italy. Gabriele Calabrese, well-known tourist guide and founding partner of Turislucca, accompanies us to learn about this marvelous wonder. He explains that the Walls were constructed to defend Lucca from its enemies and today, are a city park to be enjoyed by all: stroll, jog, cycle, play, or relax on them. He takes us to the interior of the...
Part 1: Giacomo Puccini, other famous Lucca composers, music and show venues of Lucca are the common thread in the first part of Jon Haggins’s documentary. Gabriele guides the guests through the town, entertaining them with anecdotes and unravelling this long thread that is permanently and “harmoniously” tied to the history of Lucca.