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Please Give Me More Puccini
Giacomo Puccini loved Lucca and now I know why. I have never been to an opera but I know he composed such famous operas such as Madame Butterfly and La Boheme. So when I was asked by a good friend to meet her in Lucca a couple of years ago to spend a week in September at a small country house she was renting with another friend north of Lucca in the town of Fiano, I said yes. Yes to experiencing a part of Tuscany less travelled.
The massive red brick walls around this low lying city are so well preserved that they have kept it peaceful and walkable with many beautiful old churches and open piazzas. They rival anything I have seen in Florence or Rome without the crowds. Most of the locals travel on bicycles which adds to the charm. One can rent a bike or walk the 2.5 miles around the ramparts or promenade that runs along the top of the city. The wall is so wide with large trees that it used to have two way traffic for small cars. Thank goodness the city officials decided to stop allowing that. From up on top you can look down on the small city and see the narrow streets below and get the feeling that you have gone back in time. Palazzo Pfanner has a formal garden where Portratit of a Lady was filmed. There are many small cafes and outdoor seating areas to sit at and people watch while enjoying northern tuscany dishes at small family run restaurants.
Every night in the Church of San Giovanni where Puccini worshipped there are shows to celebrate the music of Puccini. It is known as the world's only permanent festival and is a great introduction to opera as there are just a few songs from his operas done each night by internationally renowned pianists and singers who rotate throughout the many performances. I experienced a taste of this man's music and that is why I want to go back and see an entire opera. And because our country house in Fiano which was located up in the hills at the end of a long winding road was not the easiest road to navigate in the dark. Especially after having dinner and wine down in Lucca the few days we would venture down in between trips to Cinque Terre on the train or out to see the Devil's Bridge near Bagni di Lucca and the spa town of Montecatini Terme.
I want to go back and go through Casa di Puccini which is the house he lived in. And this time I would stay in a small boutique hotel right inside the walls. Perhaps Hotel Puccini and I would certainly dress up for an opera and make anyone who was with me do the same for such a special occasion. I will have to bring tissues because I cried just listening to a few excerpts from the beautiful operas. And I couldn't understand one word! To be transported like that is such an amazing experience.
Another reason I want to go back to this less travelled part of Tuscany is that I lost my journal that I always keep when I travel with my husband, family or friends. I treasure my journals to remember things I experienced on my trips. On that trip I would catch up the journal sitting under the vine strewn wooden pergola looking down over the valley. Sipping some local wines while taking turns preparing some kind of pasta dish with caprese salad or brochette every time we ate in after a day of exploring. Fresh grapes every morning for breakfast. I want to go back to Fiano to experience again the only restaurant in town called Valentino's. The entire extended family works there and live above the restaurant. We three American women were the only English speaking patrons the night we went to celebrate our last night in the town. I think everyone local had heard about the three American women who were staying at the casa up on the top of the hill who played the cd's of Puccini, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra louder with each glass of wine with all of the old windows flung wide open. Valentino's serves wine made by the grandfather who grows his own grapes. I am sure the olive oil was from a local farm too as it too came in unmarked bottles. No single bottles of wine to drink here or corks to pop. Just a double bottle with a screw cap and oh my how wonderful the red wine was with our steak florentine, potatoes and caesar salad. We ate so much that last night with dessert and lemoncello to cap it off having no idea or care what the night would cost us. None of us spoke Italian and there was no menu so you eat what they are making that night which in the end cost us amazingly only $15US each.
And lastly there is another more important reason I want to go back to Fiano. One day during one of our walks around the town on dirt roads surround by chestnut and pear trees, and many small family farms of vineyards and olive trees, we walked through a cemetery next to the church in town. We discovered a grave and memorial for a priest from the town who died during World War 11. He was only in his thirties and apparently refused to tell the Nazis where they could find the Jewish families that the locals were hiding.up in those hills. For this brave and noble position, he was forced to dig his own grave and then was shot. It brings tears to my eyes just writing about this. I have tried to find out more but without my journal I do not have the name of the priest. The picture I took has a plant in front of the name. Fiano is such a remote town that there is not much written about it or its history that I can find on the internet. I wonder where the Jewish families ended up. Did they remain safe? Did they decide to stay in this secret part of Tuscany? And is that why there is a Star of David in one of the windows of a local catholic church.
Something tells me there are a lot of secrets up there north of Lucca that would be worthy material for an opera that Puccini could and would have composed had he lived in that time. So please give me more Puccini.
Diane Glass
