Learning 2 Speak & Walk in Italiano

The week I most anticipated at Lucca Italian School featured a special course, "Parla e Cammina" (Speak and Walk), led by Angelo, one of the school's founders, who organized five excursions ranging from a stroll around Lucca's medieval walls to a challenging trek at Cinque Terre. As I know from my years of acting, learning a part (or in this case, a language) means internalizing the words in your body, feeling them in your muscle and bones. As our little Parla e Cammina group hiked up and down the impossibly beautiful countryside, filling our hearts and lungs with Italiano, I think my brain, overstuffed with classroom lessons, did indeed redistribute my new language throughout fingers and toes and the end of my nose. Now when I hear "formaggio," I smell Parmesan. And when I say "faccio un giro," my feet start moving.

Angelo has already published an engaging account of our expeditions on his Lucca Italian School blog, including some great photos of our small but intrepid group, Diane from Melbourne, Australia, Maria Luzia of São Paulo, Brazil, and me. See luccaitalianschool.blogspot.com and read "Speak & Walk Italian: A Short Account of a Memorable Week." Don't be daunted by the Italian text; an English translation follows each Italian section in the blog. I'll try not to duplicate the information in his post, but rather add a little of my perspective.

As I said, Angelo led us on an amble around Lucca's walls, but this introductory excursion gave no hint of the "walking" challenges to come. Our second excursion took us to what would be my third visit to the Garfagnana valley to the beautiful heart of the valley, Castelnuovo Garfagnana and its fortress built in 1500, the Fortezza di Montalfonso. The House of Este, rulers based  far to the north in Ferrara, built the fortezza on what was then the border with the Republic of Lucca and used this stronghold to keep an eye on possible invaders (I vouch for its steep perch above the town below). Its most famous commander was Ludovico Ariosto who was tasked with the prosaic work of chasing bandits and collecting taxes which may have driven him to balance his day job by writing the epic poem of chivalry and fantasy, Orlando Furioso (literally translated as "Mad Orlando") that has influenced so many writers ever since, including Spenser, Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Rushdie. (To tell the truth, he wrote Orlando Furioso before he became commander.) I first met Ariosto's Italian Renaissance masterpiece as a college English major and never dreamed I'd cross paths with him in a Garfagnana fortress! Lord Byron, who spent a great deal of time in Tuscany, has been cited as the English author closest in spirit to Ariosto, and as it turned out on our third walk, we followed in his footsteps, too. 

Another brooding day in the Garfagnana after our bushwack, er, climb to the Fortezza di Montalfonso.

on the Ariosto Footpath.

Back down in Castelnuovo, look what we found! Don Quixote! As inspired by Ariosto's Mad Orlando? Sculpted by Angelo Mugnaini.

The Etruscans discovered the thermal waters in the hills separating Pisa and Lucca, but it was the Romans who developed the facilities that would attract travelers across centuries to seek spiritual and physical renewal in the healing waters at San Giuliano Terme. Lord Byron was among these seekers, but our third trek took us far past his destination and on to Dante's Pass which divides Lucca from Pisa and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Here the Leaning Tower is a bump on the horizon (albeit a listing one if you can make it out in the photo) and the seaward climate is Mediterranean, unlike Lucca's climate which is much wetter and calmer. 

Pisa on the distant horizon as spied from the hills above San Giuliano Terme. Don't be misled by the tower in the far left; it's the airport control tower.

Dante's Pass is so named because he referenced "the mountain by which people from Pisa cannot see Lucca" in The Divine Comedy. We hiked an open path up the divide bucking a wind that felt as familiar to me as one coming off the Rockies in northern Montana. The low brush and dryness of the Pisa side of the divide, which has a Mediterranean climate, also felt a bit like Montana. Attention Duck Brothers: we saw a duck blind! It was the first and only evidence I encountered of the storied Italian love of shooting game, if I don't count the signs I later saw posted all over Umbria, even on fenced yards and buildings, stating "Divieto da Caccia" (Shooting Prohibited).

Fierce wind on Dante's Pass made our hair stand on end!

Proof that the Italians hunt in these parts! 

The real find on this invigorating outing was the bust of Dante Alighieri just off the old path leading from Pisa to Lucca. I don't know how old the sculpture is, but it is badly weathered and nearly vanquished by brush and vines. This surprising monument to Dante is far different than the pristine marble tomb in which he is enshrined in Ravenna, which I visited later in my travels down the Po River valley. 

Dante Alighieri looking east toward Lucca.

On our fourth journey, we traveled by car, train, and finally on foot to Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre. I have so many great photos of this hike that I'll save them for my next post. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this lone bella vista.

Looking back at Vernazza from the footpath to Monterosso al Mare.

Our final hike revealed a delightful surprise to me. During my entire stay in Lucca, I drank delicious water from the city's fountains, my favorite being the one in Piazza del Salvatore (photo below). Little did I know that our walk would take us to the source of the water in a setting that could have been Bath, England. Eventually, we climbed to the top of the hill where an astronomical telescope is housed, then continued on to a rose-bedecked village named Vorno which lies on the Via Francigena, the ancient Christian pilgrim route to Rome. I discovered later that Via Francigena also runs by the village in which my grandfather was born and raised until he emigrated to Montana at the age of 12. How fortunate I feel to know two tiny points on this storied route, thanks to Parla e Cammina!

The ancient Roman acquaduct of Lucca still stands although no water flows through it now. 

Water tumbling towards Lucca.

Angelo, Diane, and Maria Luzia walkin' on down the road through olive orchards.

Later, back in Lucca, drinking the nectar of the free flowing fountain at Piazza del Salvatore. Only Melville, Montana has water this good!

Ciao to Pisa and the sparkle of the Tyrrhenian on the far horizon from the top of Dante's Pass.

Ciao to Lucca from the hill above the waterworks looking north to the Garfagnana.

Most of all, ciao and grazie to Angelo, Maria Luzia and Diane! I'd walk with you anywhere.

Coming up next: Cinque Terre. 

Ciao,

Glee

2 Beautiful Barga: Another Trip Up the Garfagnana

In the week between "Speak and Cook" and "Speak and Walk" activities at Lucca Italian School, our teachers organized other opportunities for us to explore Lucca and the northern Tuscany countryside. One excursion took us back up the Garfagnana to the Serchio River valley where we'd gone to learn about making cheese and to visit the restored medieval castle. 

The destination on this trip was Barga, a village on the slopes of the Serchio where terraces of vineyards and trees stretch in every direction. Barga is medieval and some of the ancient walls still stand around the town. We climbed winding, one-horse-lane streets of stone to the upper town which is crowned by a Romanesque cathedral (the third of the following photos).

However, before we got to the top of the hill and the cathedral, we encountered another church. This intimate space was decorated with exquisite glazed terra cotta by Andrea della Robbia. Unlike other terra cottas by the della Robbia family that I would later see in Florence and Lucca churches, these were almost close enough to touch. (I am not quite tall enough! But I wouldn't have touched anyway!) Of all the art I have gazed upon in Italy, the della Robbia terra cotta pieces are among my favorites, whether hanging in the grand spaces of Santa Croce in Florence or in this little church in Barga. The third photo here is in a different style, but still by della Robbia, I believe.

At last, we achieved the summit and entered the cathedral built of white limestone, which is named for St. Christopher and features a huge wooden sculpture of him with the Christ child perched on one shoulder. Never can I remember seeing a male (as opposed to the Madonna) holding Christ and placed in the most prominent position in a church. And to be flanked by organ pipes just shatters all expectations. 

Another remarkable sight in the cathedral is the 12C marble ambo (I had to look this up; it means pulpit  in a Christian basilica) supported by two lions and a squatting man.

The lions look happy. They are slaying their prey.

The man looks less happy. He's waiting for his reward in heaven, I presume.

Although I worry I will overwhelm with photos of this incredible marble carving, I can't resist sharing one more that shows a bit of detail on the lectern.

As we had so many other afternoons in and around Lucca, we encountered thunder and lightning and rain, oh my! as we left the cathedral. But the changeable weather only added to the beauty of this mountain village.

Lower Barga before the downpour.

Barga after the deluge.

As we bid good-bye to beautiful Barga, we left the old town through a portal in the ancient wall which was decorated with -- you guessed it -- a della Robbia terra cotta. 

And out we went into a fresh and green land.

Ciao!

A Trip Up 2 the Garfagnana

During our "Speak and Cook" week at Lucca Italian School, we took a day off from class to visit two special places up the Serchio River valley in the Garfagnana region directly north of Lucca. This region doesn't scream "Tuscany!" It lies between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines and not an olive grove or a vineyard is to be found; pines and chestnuts cover the steep slopes and picturesque villages cling to the highest ground. 

We wound up a narrow tract as far as Verrucole to visit a caseificio (cheese factory), a family business where everyone in the family works in some capacity. The milk comes from many fattorias (farms) in this northernmost corner of Tuscany as well as Emilia Romagna due north. They make 20+ different kinds of cheese from cow, goat, and sheep milk. We asked about the cheese labeled parmesan aging in their cooler, and with a wink, our guide said, "we don't make that here; it is only allowed in Emilia Romagna." In fact, they make it, age it, and send it back over the regional border as Parma's world famous cheese. Location, location, location!

Here's our group dressed to enter the immense room where all the different cheeses are made. We got to step right up to the vats and the molds as they worked!

Here's Papa making ricotta. He's setting it in molds.

And Mama making formaggio fresca, a creamy, "wet," and very mild fresh cheese (no aging). Our only equivalent, I think, is cottage cheese which is a distant country cousin to this tasty sophisticate.

Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. 

From the fattoria's "front lawn," we could see our next stop: the Fortezza delle Verrucole, a medieval fortress first owned by a powerful family before passing to Lucca in the 13C, eventually becoming the most powerful fortress in the northern Garfagnana. It began a long decline in the 16C, but wasn't dismantled until the 19C. (I love the juxtaposition of the modern tractor and the medieval fortress!)

At the Fortezza delle Verrucole, we were greeted by two young "docents" dressed in historically accurate clothing. They told us that we were entering Italy's first "medieval living museum," and that all of the things we would see there were replicas of medieval items made in the way they would have originally been created. The renovation began in the 90s and funding has come from a variety of sources, including the EU. The fortress just officially opened this year at the end of April, so we were among the very first visitors. These young people were very passionate about the fortress and their work there (they had just begun planting a garden with herbs used since medieval times), and I was reminded of the passion of the many reenactors in the U.S. 

Angelo, our guide and mentor from Lucca Italian School is a particularly "good egg." He submitted to dressing up in one version of medieval armor. We thought he looked born to the part!

Another view of the fortress from inside the walls. See how narrow the fortress is, just perched on high ground.

We descended back down the path to the village of Verrucole and bid good-bye to one of the ladies who I am sure hopes that this off-the-beaten-track attraction will entice visitors to make the trek to this special site. 

The Garfagnana is an incredibly interesting place. In fact, I bought a t-shirt sporting a map of the region and every time I wear it, people get a bright, knowing look, "ah, the Garfagnana."

Ciao!