What could be more glorious than a Tuscan sunset at the amazing Villa al Boschiglia?  Not much!  The colors of soft light behind the rolling hills of Tuscany reminds one of Tuscany’s bounty of wine and fruits, not to mention the feelings of romance they evoke.  Tuscan sunsets never fail to amaze. That golden ball in the horizon eventually disappears through the Tuscan hills and leaves behind a sky of various shades from orange, purple, red, pink, and gold, eventually giving way to darkness and a night sky of millions of stars.  One can only hope to have the privilege of staying at this amazing villa and experiencing the ever changing colors of sunsets in Tuscany.  In the meantime, it is good to dream such dreams.

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Today’s Carnevale di Ivrea took its roots during the time Napoleon ruled the region. Until this time, each district in the city celebrated its own carnival separately; but it was changed to combine all of them into a single city-wide party, and when the area returned to Italian rule, it continued as one large celebration. The Battle of the Oranges symbolizes the towns’ liberation from its rulers and the teams of Aranceri (orange handlers) are either representing the commoners or the duke’s allies during the three-day citrus conflict. The duke’s allies take their positions on their horse drawn carriages and battle against the nine opposing Aranceri teams who are on foot. The teams in the carriages are geared up with humongous helmets along with other protective gear; the citizen teams wear their traditional costumes along with some protective gear minus those silly helmets. The use of oranges during the festival is a relative new addition; particularly since oranges are not grown in the area and over half a million pounds of oranges have to be shipping in from Sicily. Previous festivals had used apples and beans until sometime in the early 20th century when the last switch was made.

Sadly spectators can only watch. If you are looking to get into the mix you will have to plan ahead and sign up to join one of the nine teams. Anyone who wants to take have fun but not get pelted with oranges should rock a red hat, this marks you as a spectator instead of a target. At the end of the Carnevale di Ivrea, a ceremony is held in front of town hall to announce the winners of the orange battle that is then followed by an awesome bonfire. So make sure you pack some citrus friendly clothing, be prepared to party for three days and make your way to Ivrea.

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One hundred paintings inspired by the Tales of Boccaccio by Jenny McIntosh, Scottish transplant to Bagni di Lucca, are on exhibit in Lucca at Corte dell’Angelo, via Roma this week beginning on November 5th (see What’s On). Her discov- ery of Boccaccio is a tale within a tale in- volving Franklin Samuel Stych, “Sam” as he is known to all. Humanist scholar and bib- liographer, Sam Stych has been researching Boccaccio for 30 years, and continued even after moving to Bagni di Lucca in 1977.

Sam’s mind is remarkably sharp despite his age. When we visited him (and Alessio his cat) a few weeks ago he directed Jenny and me to several books from his shelves: his bibliographical work on Boccaccio pub- lished by Greenwood Press, the monograph he authored for the Pinocchio Foundation entitled Pinocchio in England, and his 430-page Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Sheffield on Lucchese novelle by Nicolao Grannucci (1521-1603).

Jenny’s weekly visits to 95-year-old Sam have been an occasion to share a glass of wine while talking about literature, history and life. She learned that the Decameron, a collection of 100 novellas written be- tween 1349 and 1351 – shortly after the plague had decimated Florence and driven many people to country retreats – was sur- prisingly complex in its approach to women. As she read the tales and talked with Sam, she found herself painting her way into the psyches of women like Griselda, Alibech, Madonna Agnesa, Monna Sismonda, Belcolore, and also of the seven women narrators who spent their time swapping tales with their three male companions before returning to their tra- ditional life and roles in Florence.

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Believe me, I know from experience as I have stayed there myself!

#11 Communication, Communication, Communication!

The villa is equipped with an Apple computer.  There is also wi-fi if you have your own computers.  There is a stereo CD player with central diffusion.  A large satellite television is available for your viewing pleasure. If you need a cell phone for your tour days one will be available.  All this is assuming you don’t want to close out the world during your visit.  Talk about luxury!

#12 Privacy!  Privacy!  Privacy!

Finally, I must tell you how very private and discreet the villa is for guests.  One can only enter the property with a special key code.  You just enter the code and the big solid iron gates open to reveal a long allay of tall Cypress trees and pots of entwined lemon trees with the beautiful villa at the end.  Your cars are parked to the side so they never impede this beautiful vision.  Whether around the pool, under the pergola, or in the villa one has a real sense of privacy.  And that is just the way this sock dog likes it and I know you will too!

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Here are the ingredients for 4 people:
4 fresh onions 4 artichokes 4 tablespoons fresh peas 4 tablespoons fresh pods 4 tablespoons of asparagus 120 grams veal mince 70 grams bacon or ham 1.2 litres beef stock 3 slices of Tuscan bread Oliveoil(extravergine fromLucca,ofcourse) Salt
Preparation:
Brown the finely chopped onion with the olive oil and finely chopped bacon in a saucepan. When the onion is browned, add the veal andthenthefreshbeans,peas,artichokes,cleanedandcutintopieces,andthen thelightlycookedasparagustips.
After 5 minutes, add the stock and slowly bring to the boil until the vegetables are cooked (probably an hour and a half on the lowest possible heat). Serve the garmugia with toasted bread cut into cubes (croutons).

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The theatre owes its present form to the outbreak of creative energy which burst upon Lucca in the early 1800s, driven not least by two formidable women, first Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister who ruled Lucca from 1805 till 1814, and later Maria Luisa di Borbone (that’s her statue in the middle of Piazza Napoleone.)

It was the latter who in1817 commissioned the architect Giovanni Lazzarini to restore and expand the existing Teatro Nazionale, and provide for it an elegant urban setting in keeping with Bourbon taste. The result is the theatre as we now know it, shown to advantage in its own handsome square, and with perspectives across the tree-lined Piazza Napoleone itself.

The origins of theatre in Lucca of course go back much further, to the 17th Century in fact, when performances were held in the Teatro dei Borghi, and the Sala del Podestà, which later became the Palazzo Pretorio, the building with the loggia on the corner of Piazza San Michele and via Vittorio Veneto. Later, of course, the grand palazzi of the lucchese nobility lent themselves to staging theatrical performances, and in the heyday of the silk trade as Lucca became a mecca for merchants from all over the known world, with the means to enjoy the finer things of life, it was not long before the city commissioned its first public theatre.

This was the Teatro San Girolamo, (attached to the present theatre and now once again happily in use) converted from a Jesuit convent in the 17th century. It was later joined by several privately-run theatres – the Pantera, the Castiglioncelli, and the Goldoni.

Lazzaroni’s task was to take the Teatro Nazionale, as the Teatro San Girolamo had become, and adapt it and its setting to suit the prevailing French taste in Lucca in the early 1800s for splendid open spaces showing buildings to their best advantage. In effect he extended the building to face into what is now Piazza del Giglio, leading into Piazza Napoleone. It is a tribute to his achievement that the theatre and its surroundings remain largely unchanged today.

A new theatre demanded a new name, and Maria Luisa, true to her Bourbon roots chose the giglio – the lily or fleur de lys, from the family coat of arms. And fittingly, it was a work by the composer of the moment Gioachino Rossini which opened the new theatre in 1819, when his “Aureliano in Palmira” was performed.

While the work is not often heard nowadays, Rossini, typically, later re-used much of it in “The Barber of Seville”. (And in fact if you want to track it down, there is a recording of it from 1995, featuring the orchestra of none other than the Teatro del Giglio.) Since that night in 1819, the theatre has, besides its drama and dance programmes, hosted all the great names of Italian opera, and some of its most famous conductors.

In the early days, Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti came in person to present new works, and the soprano Maria Malibran had a huge success, sending her audience delirious according to contemporary reports. In 1836 the star soprano at the Giglio in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” was Giuseppina Strepponi, later to become the wife of Giuseppe Verdi. In the latter half of the 19th century, Verdi’s works became increasingly popular as patriotic fervour in Italy grew.

From the 1870s onwards in fact, the theatre – by now lit by gas rather than oil lamps – began its truly golden period when there was rarely a seat to be had at performances, particularly of lucchesi composers – Puccini of course, although none of his works had their premiere there, and Catalani, whose “La Wally” was conducted by the great Arturo Toscanini.

The tradition persisted into the 20th century, when despite long periods of closure during two World Wars, the theatre continued to host great conductors and singers, among them Carlo Tagliavini, Maria Caniglia, Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and – as Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Bohème” in the early1960s – a certain young tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Sadly, these golden days of ten or twelve operas each year are now gone, but the lucchesi can still dream of their theatre as La Scala in miniature, as Lucio D’Ambra described it, “…il Giglio, una piccola Scala…..”

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The Devil, tired of seeing the saint prey and sing all day, sought to tempt him while he was making a beech wood cross, all in vain. Irritated, the Devil slapped the saint so hard he was knocked down. San Pellegrino slowly got back up and also tired of the continuous torments he was made to endure, instead of turning the other cheek slapped the Devil right back so hard he was hurled against the crest of the mountain. The Devil hit the mountain with his head, the terrible impact created the hole that we can see today.

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4 – Attention, Attention, Attention!

You will receive excellent service from beginning to end; from your initial contact to your departure, the service you receive will be individualized, attentive, and second to none. Our service also includes 24-hour guest support during your stay. We strive to make certain that all your individual needs are addressed. Our exceptional professional staff is of the highest quality and consistently receives excellent feedback

The post Why rent a villa in Tuscany like Villa al Boschiglia? Otis’ Reason 4 first appeared on PlanningaTour.com.