Archive for 'Lucca'

If you are a music-lover and you are considering one of our Tuscany villas this summer then you will quickly discover that there is a rather wide array of incredible different music events and festivals that take place all across the region each year during the season. These events vary widely in genre, style, scale, setting, and cost from local celebrations that are more like parties and can be free to attend, to festivals dedicated to specialist genres for serious super fans, to more mainstream and larger-scale events and concerts featuring world-famous acts. No matter what kind of music or concerts you like, in particular, you’re sure to find some suitable event in Tuscany. If, however, you are a particular fan of opera and you were planning on finding a villa on the Tuscan Coast or a vacation rental in Pisa or a holiday rental in Lucca then the various wonderful perfomances of operas that are put on as part of the Festival Puccini each July and August will likely be of interest. In an utterly charming setting, dedicated to a musical genius from the area, and boasting some truly incredible productions, this is one of the best opera events to attend in Italy.

This year’s 68th addition of the Festival Puccini will take place between the 15th of July 2022 and the 29th of August 2022, giving you just enough time to take a look through some of our last-minute villas in Tuscany to make a wonderful Tuscan getaway full of culture and art happens for you this summer if you have yet to book your vacation this year. 

Tuscany is home to some world-famous museums and galleries as well as churches and palaces with extraordinary collections that are known the world over and are immediate must-sees for those planning a vacation in Tuscany or to find a Tuscany villa. However, these well-known spots are not the only places to go to see art while in Tuscany. In fact, one might stumble across all kinds of incredible masterpieces all throughout the region from the Keith Haring mural painted on the side of an old church in Pisa to the examples of contemporary street art that dot cities such as Florence to random little chapels and tiny local museums that boast works by famous Old Masters. Or, you might find that a regional museum is playing host to a travelling exhibition or temporary loan of some astounding pieces from some of those more famous museums. One example of just such a regional museum and just such an exhibition is the Ex Cavallerizza in Lucca in the Piazzle Verdi, located in the stunning and historic city of Lucca, which is playing host to the, "I Pittori della Luce / Painters of Light," exhibition. Browse our villas with pools in Lucca and get booking today to see it for yourself this summer or in the early autumn before it closes!

Lucca is exactly the type of city that one can spend their entire time just wandering around and allowing oneself to stumble upon her various surprises and secrets. From crowds of locals standing around enjoying morning espresso and pastries at little family-run bakeries, to tiny pizza shops serving up piping hot and delicious pizza by the slice, to souvenir shops and perfectly curated clothing boutiques, to artisan’s workshops where beautiful things are handcrafted, to charming old churches, to museums full of fascinating objects, to architectural gems, to picturesque alleys with cats perched on walls...all this and much more besides can be found as you wander Lucca’s lovely historic streets. And then, if you’ve found your villa with pool in Lucca or your Tuscany villa, and you’re spending some time exploring all that she has to offer, you may find yourself on Via Chiasso Barletti, right in the heart of the Old Town. There, on this cobbled, narrow, shop-lined street, you’ll find Etta’s Bookshop.

Etta’s Bookshop is a real treasure and a must-see spot for bookworms who are on vacation in Lucca. An English-language bookshop that was opened in 2019, just shortly before everything was closed down, it has managed to survive the pandemic and we’re so glad. Stocking a wonderful curation of books, owner Giulia Rontani was able to keep going in those first few months due to her loyal customers who ordered books that she would drive around delivering to their homes (according to her interview here). Now, with her doors open once more, she is able to welcome in both those loyal customers and new visitors alike to wander around and browse the brilliant array of books on offer.

As spring draws closer, many look forward to the blooming of flowers and, though it may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of famous destinations to enjoy spring blooms, Tuscany is actually an ideal place for those who like to wander in gardens and enjoy the scents and colours of life being breathed back into the land once more. In fact, there are lots of truly spectacular gardens dotted all over the region, many of which are former pleasure grounds that were once part of the estates of the nobles who used their wealth to adorn the countryside, cities, churches, and museums of Tuscany with incredible buildings, flights of fancy, stunning works of art, and magical things made or tamed by human hands. There is the Giardino di Boboli with its astonishing arrangement of fountains, statuary from ancient Rome to the 18th century, nymphaea, temples, grottoes, and plants; Florence’s Rose Garden which was commissioned in 1865 as part of a plan to redevelop the city when it became Italy’s capital and which boasts astonishing views over Florence as well as a whopping 400 different species of roses; and the English-style garden and classic Italian-style garden filled with the scent of the lemons and a colourful riot of blooms ripened by the sun at the former Medici villa of Poggio a Caiano in Prato; to name but a handful of examples. However, if you are a planning a vacation in Tuscany this coming spring and you have a special fondness for camellia flowers, in particular, then you should make a point to head to the town and comune of Capannori in the province of Lucca...