Lucca is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini - one of the finest composers of opera that there has ever been. That is certainly the opinion of Lucca residents and those who live in nearby Torre del Lago where the master also lived for many years. We have been very happy to attend the Puccini festival this summer and enjoy the spectacle of three of his great operas performed in the open air - here I am before the beginning of Madama Butterfly
It was the first time we had been on an organised tour and we didn't know quite what to expect - we were fortunate to have our lovely friend Ally with us, but all other members of the party were complete unknowns. Within five minutes of arriving Steve had teamed up with us. He certainly loved Puccini with a passion and he was also very knowledgeable about Fiats. He was very willing to share his masterly grasp of all makes and models as and when he spotted a Fiat driving past. As we were in Italy, this was very often. Lunchtime in Italy is delightful with cheese and honey, ravioli, bread, cooked meats, pizza and of course, wine.
As well as attending the opera we also had a day in Florence. This is one of the most amazing cities I have ever seen. There are just statues everywhere, also tourists.
Florence is a city we definitely intend to visit again - we hardly saw any of it's amazing architecture and art. The Uffizi gallery is crammed with masterpieces and the Pitti Palace was the venue for the very first opera ever performed, as well as Napoleon's bathroom. The top picture is of Christopher and Ally thoroughly enjoying their Uffizi experience, then there is some influential thirteenth century art by Giotto, and finally a lovely picture of Napoleon's bath.
However, the most important element of our trip was to thoroughly imbibe Puccini, so we were delighted to go on a walking tour of Lucca to see the churches where he played, and the museum situated in his childhood home. While we were in the cathedral we were extremely privileged to view Puccini's organ.
The museum has lots of Puccini memorabilia including the piano he used to write Turandot, letters and manuscripts. They were also happy for photographs to be taken, unlike our visit to his villa at Torre del Lago, where I just managed to sneak one picture of his shutters
While we were wandering in Lucca, we pondered the meaning of the ironmongery set into many of the paths and pavements. it is probably something very mundane such as just marking the edge of the road, but it would be much more romantic if we could tie it in to Puccini somehow - all paths lead to Puccini maybe.