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!