june 2021 g tuscany’s rapevine

with the sponsorship of

MAGAZINE

GRAPEVINETUSCANY’S

The magazine for those who live in Tuscany – or wish they did

June 2021 € 2.90

Contents

Direttore ResponsabileGiuseppe Brandani

EditorNorma Jean Bishop

ContributorsHelen AskhamAnna BenedettoChiara CalabreseClaudia CasoliLucia CostaJudith EdwardsThomas S. EnglandSue PerryFrancis PettittDonna PilletereFrancesca StaffaJess SimpsonMari & Ray SummersMaria Tsaousidou

Marketing & Distribution

TechnicalSilvano Simi

Alex GalliDiana GattiNicola Girolami

Tuscany’s Grapevine Magazine by Grapevine Editions

Via dell’Angelo Custode 3A, Lucca Centro Storico, 55100 Italy Mailing address: Via Roma 19, Pescaglia LU 55064 Italy. Mobile +39 333 8617962 [email protected] www.luccagrapevine.com Codice univoco M5UXCR1 P. IVA 02416230460 C.F. BSHNMJ48C65Z404D Iscrizione CCIAA - LU 223932. Registrazione Tribunale di Lucca n° 4, 23 Feb. 2016.

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Articles/photos for consideration may be submitted to the Editor. Advertising in editorial form may also be submitted for inclusion. Pages enclosed within a frame contain paid submissions. Unsigned articles are normally by the Editor.

© Tuscany’s Grapevine Magazine© What’s On In & Around

The listings published in Grapevine are taken from reliable sources and reproduced in good faith. However, to avoid disappointment, readers are advised to check information before setting off. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or of the Direttore Responsabile.

Cover:

In the heart of old Lucca

by Jess Simpson

Art, Music, Theatre, Film

Traditions & History

Language

Food & Drink

Practical

Properties for Sale or RentBilingual CrosswordProfessionals, Classifieds

I Fossi dell’Arte 2021 2Exhibit of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré 2Lucca Dance Meeting 5 Homage to Jazz Musician Antonello Vannucchi 6Francesco Nesi’s Whimsical Art 7Loving Mother Nature at Tenuta dello Scompiglio 8Molière at the Giglio 9Franco Battiato. Addio, Cinghiale Bianco 10Lucca Classica Festival 11Livorno’s Van Gogh, Mario Puccini 14

The Shepherd at Farneta 16

Poem from Elizabeth English Academy 3 Stop Anglicisms in Italian! 10 Learning Italian with Don Camillo 20

What’s Brewing around Lucca 18Intrullicchio 22

Italian Health Care 101 21

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LUNATA - LUCCA tel. 0583.429333 - fax 0583.429158

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Tuscany’s GRAPEVINE Magazine June 20212

Remember the weekend hours: 5/6 and 12/13 June.

10am to 1pm, 4pm to 7pm. Free admission.

Palazzo delle Esposizioni Piazza San Martino, 7, Lucca


In collaboration with the Puccini Foundation, two Pucciniane dance performances will take place in Piazza Cittadella, on Wednesday 9 June with La Rondine and Thursday 17 June with La Boheme.

On Saturday 12 June, on the Lucca walls along the

pedestrian walkway, sixteen musical groups from the Boccherini Institute, coordinated by Prof.ssa Elena Giannesi, together with dancers from the DIP Intensive Dance program, will present Incursioni, brief performances of music and dance of about ten minutes each, for a total of ninety minutes. The performance will be repeated on Saturday 19 June in six piazzas in the town center. In general, Incursions of musicians and dancers will take place on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays after 4 p.m.

At the Teatro del Giglio on 19 June, a career prize for contemporary dance will be awarded to Sylvie Guillem. The international jury consists of: Viviana Durante (Director, English National Ballet School), Gianni Malfer (co-director BA Contemporary Dance ZHdK Zurich), Naomi Perlov (Director, Suzanne Dellal, Centre for Dance, Tel Aviv), Francois Petit (Assistant director, Ballettschule Theater, Bael), Lorella Reboa (Director A.E.D. Italy), and Christiana Stefanou (Director, Vienna Ballet Academy).

Urban dance and hip-hop is scheduled for 23 June, with Danzando fuori dalle mura street dance, coordinated by Marialisa Puntoni, in the Sant'Anna neighborhood near the playground at Via De Gasperi.

The Dance Meeting will conclude on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June at Teatro del Giglio and Teatro San Girolamo with the traditional dance competitions and awards.

s in past years, you can expect to see the streets and piazzas of Lucca's historic center filled with dancing feet throughout the month of June, while of course following Covid 19 A

prevention protocols. Lucca Dance Meeting is an annual event that brings performers from Rotterdam's Codarts program, Zurich University of the Arts Contemporary Dance program, the Dance Intensive Program of the European Dance Association (AED), and of course Italian dancers too, accompanied by musicians from Lucca's Boccherini Institute, with the collaboration of the Teatro del Giglio and town of Lucca.

What a joy for our summer days, watching these delightful performers as they leap and pirouette! The streets will be buzzing with performances on the streets, and shop windows will decorated for the event.

Look for the dancers at the Teatro del Giglio, Boccherini Auditorium, Palazzo Guinigi, Villa Bottini, Agorà, and in the most beautiful piazzas. Not only the historic center, but also nearby Borgo Giannotti and San Concordio will be involved. Here are some of the highlights:

Opening the Dance Meeting on 2 June at 9 p.m. will be a concert-performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Church of To book or buy tickets by credit card, San Francesco, with the Boccherini Institute Orchestra directed call the Teatro del Giglio box office, by Maestro Gianpaolo Mazzoli, and choreography by Valentina +39-0583.465320. Di Pippo. The show will be repeated on Thursday 3 June. Tickets For more information: are free but must be reserved at the Teatro del Giglio box office. A.E.D. e-mail:

On Saturday 5 June, Piazza San Michele will host Danza che tel.+39-0586-410825passione, an open-air performance coordinated by Erika Rocca and Salvo Gianino from the school Solo danza.

[email protected]

Editorial

Dear Friends and Readers,

On 2 June Italy will celebrate the Festa della Repubblica, for the 75th time since the Republic was formed in 1946. President Sergio Mattarella will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Frecce Tricolori (military planes flying in formation with green, white, and red smoke-tails) will fly over Rome. The usual parade will not take place, but there will be televised concerts on 1 June (6.30 p.m.) and 2 June (6 p.m.). We can watch the ceremonies on television, a poignant patriotic moment made all the more so because of the sacrifices Italians have made to Covid, and because our President has announced that at the end of his mandate, in eight months, he will step down from his role, citing his age.

All things pass, and even Covid may soon be passing. There are positive signs all around us: more vaccinated, fewer afflicted. More people in the shops, more of them smiling, more announcing their vaccine dates. Our magazine reflects this, with the many cultural events that are returning, after having virtually skipped last year. I say virtually, but the word is a malapropism because in fact many events did take place through the magic of technology, thanks to Zoom, Social Media, and the rest. There isn't enough space in these pages to talk about all of the events: jazz, dance, classical music, art exhibitions, nature programs for children….

A few words about traveling in Italy. You can now access and print your Vaccination Pass (certificato verde) online. However, you will either need a SPID (Public System of Digital Identity) number or have the CIE (Carta d’Identità Elettronica) ID app downloaded on your phone. According to Tuscany's regional president, Eugenio Giani, you can obtain your vaccine certification from your own health file (fascicolo sanitario elettronico), through http://fascicicolosanitario.regione.toscana.it/ or you can use the hospital totems (if you don't know what a totem is, see the article on healthcare on page 21). For now, it seems the green card is only valid in Italy, but after July 1st there should be a similar certification for Europe. Things change fast, don’t they?!

On a final note, we remember with affection Italy's marvelous ballerina Carla Fracci (1936-2021), who we had the privilege of seeing in performance some years ago at the Villa Oliva near Lucca. We recall too one of Italy's most beloved cantautori, Franco Battiato, who also passed away this past month (see page 10). May they rest in peace.

– Norma and the entire Grapevine Team

Quality TranslationsEditing & Book Preparation

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Editions

GRAPEVINE

AN ACROSTIC POEM

FROM THE 3rd YEAR CLASS

OF THE ELIZABETH ENGLISH ACADEMY

IN PISA

Creative ways to learn through Zoom,

One hundred lessons from my living room.

Vacation time means spending time by the sea,

I don’t need anything fancy, just grandma and me.

Don’t be defeated, things aren’t as bad as they seem

... Take a moment to relax and enjoy an ice-cream!

– submitted by Francesca Staffa


rancesco Nesi, in this delightful exhibit entitled Il Mio Piccolo Principe. Viaggio Infinito, inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, offers colorful dreamy images that carry us along over Italian rooftops and scenery in an imagined voyage through time F and space. Nesi's Little Prince lassos the moon, plays the violin, carries a toy

airplane, and brings along a companion, while soaring over beach umbrellas, church domes, hills, and village houses through a topsy-turvy wonderland that we can share if we open up our hearts to the child within.

According to curator Maurizio Vanni, Nesi's characters, in most cases, are in movement between heaven and earth, as if they were reaching towards the dimension of awareness … not to arrive at the final destination, but by overcoming obstacles and dangers to learn to distinguish their human identity from their social identity. Co-curator Filippo Lotti adds that Nesi's colors and compositions in fact miraculously project us into a dreamlike and surprising atmosphere, where the earthly life is transformed and transported into a non-place and a non-time, essential and desirable conditions for those still wanting to dream.

Nesi was born in San Casciano Val di Pesa, near Florence. This rich territory has fertilized his imagination with fanciful and ironic characters, flying and fluttering through the sky, with vivacious and lively colors, together with the culture of this land.

In 1985 Nesi was awarded the Premio Bargellini and exhibited at Florence's Biblioteca Nationale. He also received the Fiorino d'oro prize in the Salone del Cinquecento at the Palazzo Vecchio. Besides exhibiting throughout Italy, his works have been displayed in Germany, France, and the United States (at Artexpo in New York, 1997) and are on permanent display in galleries in Carmel, California and in Seattle. He continues to live and work at Tavernelle Val di Pesa (FI).

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Homage to Jazz Musician Antonello Vannucchi

n Saturday 5 June 2021 in Lucca, the Circolo Lucca Jazz commemorates one of the most creative musicians of his generation. Antonello Vannucchi's O music was a bridge between American musical culture

and Italy. Protagonist from the 1950s and 1960s with the famous Quintetto di Lucca (later, Quartetto), for many years Vannucchi was pianist of the RAI Orchestra in Rome.

Vannucchi, who passed away two years ago, was a composer and vibraphonist. In his long career he played with authentic American jazz legends such as Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Lionel Hampton, and many others.

The Circolo Lucca Jazz, together with the Liceo Musicale Passaglia, has organized a day-long tribute, in collaboration with Real Collegio di Lucca and the support of the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Foundation. At 11 a.m. in the Chapter Room of the Real Collegio (access from via della Cavallerizza), music critic Stefano Zenni will hold a lesson/dialogue, From Lucca to Europe: Italian jazz of the Fifties and Sixties (free admission but reservations required), framed by the small documentary exhibition Moments of the History of the Jazz Club, which will remain open until Saturday 12 June (free admission in the afternoons).

At 6 p.m. also on 5 June, the concert Homage to Antonello Vannucchi will be held in San Francesco Church. Access is free but tickets are mandatory with advance reservation. The evening will open with the Jazz Orchestra of the Liceo Musicale, followed by the Circolo Lucca Jazz Ensemble, with musical arrangements of Vannucchi's music by Marco Cattani. I 4 di Lucca will play in the presence of the founding musicians Giovanni and Vito Tommaso (respectively double bass and piano), accompanied by Vittorio Alinari (saxophone) and Michele Vannucci (drums).

Antonello Vannucchi and I 4 di Lucca are a bridge between jazz and Italy. We asked Stefano Zenni what role they played in importing music, culture, and a new way of seeing things. Jazz Antonello Vannucchi and I 4 di Lucca stand out among the most arrived in Italy from the USA in the 1920s, but it was in the 1950s creative musicians of their generation.that Italian musicians developed a deeper understanding of the How did Antonello use styles, melodies, and rhythms from style and were able to express themselves with more originality. overseas to introduce them to our country? Vannucchi grew up

listening to bebop, hard bop, and Californian jazz, made up of complex rhythms, refined harmonies, tastefully modeled melodies. In addition to the skill of an improviser in these styles, Vannucchi added his sense of swing, care in composition and arrangement, and a taste for a particular sound, that of the quartet and quintet, inspired by American models, but with a personal and original spirit.

Does our vibraphonist have any other links with the USA? Certainly the use of the vibraphone is a sign of a very strong bond. The instrument became established in the USA in the 1930s thanks to Lionel Hampton, and then became an instrument of modern jazz with Milt Jackson. By adopting the vibraphone, Vannucchi showed that he was up to date on the most recent trends in American jazz.

As a composer, what other bridges were created between Italy and America? Vannucchi's main merit is to have popularized an American style in Italy, in many contexts: concert jazz, film music, music for radio and tv, pop songs. In all these areas Vannucchi was able to find a balance between jazz inspiration and writing close to the Italian taste for melody and timbre fantasy.

– by Anna Benedetto

To attend Stefano Zenni's lecture-dialogue, send an e-mail to [email protected]

To book the free and open performances, assigned according to anti-contagion regulations,

consult the website https://www.eventbrite.it, from noon on Thursday 3 June to noon on Saturday 5 June.


he Teatro del Giglio, Lucca's theatre of tradition, will re-open its doors on Saturday 12 June (for the dress rehearsal) and Sunday 13 June for the national première of Francesco T Niccolini's L'uomo che oscurò il Re Sole – Vita di Molière

(The man who obscured the Sun King – Life of Molière), both evenings at 8.30 p.m. Interpreting Molière will be one of Italy's most admired actors, Alessio Boni, while musician and composer Alessandro Quarta will accompany Boni on both violin and piano. This theatrical re-telling for voice and music is a tragic-comic story of love, ardor, and passion.

Jean Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, was born in Paris in 1622. He was an actor, playwright, and poet. He began his career in the Commedia dell'Arte tradition and soon thereafter obtained the patronage of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and brother of Louis XIV. His well-known plays include The School for Wives, The School for Husbands, Tartuffe, and perhaps most famously, The Misanthrope. While performing the role of the invalid Argan in his final play The Imaginary Invalid (1673), Molière was overcome by coughing and hemorrhaging and died of tuberculosis a few hours later.

Alessio Boni, who studied and worked with Giorgio Strehler and

Dee Bridgewater, Il Volo, James Peter Stein (to mention only a few), Taylor, Amii Stewart, and many has performed in many iconic roles, more. In 2017 at Montecitorio in such as Caravaggio, Giacomo Rome he was awarded Miglior Puccini, Prince Andrej Bokonskij, Eccellenza Italiana nel Mondo and Ulysses, and even God (in the play by CNN in 2013, Musical Genius.The Visitor directed by Valerio

Francesco Niccolini has written Binasco). plays for many actors. In 2019 Alessandro Quarta, violinist, Mondadori published his first novel, multi-instrumentalist, composer, Il lupo e la Farfalla (The wolf and and arranger, has collaborated with the butterfly). In recent years, the Roberto Bolle, the Solisti Berliner Teatro del Giglio has hosted several Philharmoniker, RAI Orchestra of of his plays: Nel tempo degi déi – Il Turin, Teatro La Scala Quartet, Dee Calzolaio di Ulisse with Marco Paolini and the theatrical graphic novel Lucrezia forever! with Amanda Sandrelli.

Tickets for both performances go on sale online at TicketOne beginning 3 June. For the dress rehearsal (12 June) ticket prices range from 16 to 27 euros, while for the national premier (13 June) ticket prices range from €18 to €30. In accordance with anti-Covid regulations, the number of seats available has been reduced compared to the theatre's usual capacity. For more information and to make reservations, contact [email protected]

From June to September, the theatre's programming will include the following outdoor events: Le Cartoline Pucciniane, performances of narration, dance, and lyric in Piazza del Giglio, GiglioLab activities for children in the garden of the Agorà library, and the grand symphony concert in

Piazza San Martino in July. See the website www.teatrodelgiglio.it for all the details.

Alessio Boni

Francesco Niccolini

Alessandro Quarta

Molière at the Giglio


promote indoor and outdoor performing arts and interaction with the earth, woods, animals, and architecture. The Association hosts shows, concerts, exhi-bitions, installations, children's theatre, artists-in-residence, workshops, and courses.

Beginning on 2 June, the Tenuta's Performance and Exhibition Space (SPE) will re-open to the public, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Associazone Culturale ondering what to do with your Dello Scompigliochildren this summer? The cultural

Via di Vorno, 67 – Vorno (LU)association Dello Scompiglio has Tel. 0583 971475again this year initiated a summer W

[email protected] for children and families, aimed at re-discovering Nature through arts and open-air playing.

SPE Ticket Office Hours: In June, for example, during the weekend of 19-2pm to 6pm Thursdays & Fridays20 June there is a full day program of activities (11 3pm to 7pm Saturdays & Sundaysa.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday).

Tel. 0583 971125The days begin with a theatrical show set in Nature, Il [email protected] degli alberi by Marta Mingucci. Also on

Sunday morning, there is the option of an experimental children's workshop called La mangiatoia, curated by Open Farm.

After lunch, perhaps at the Scompiglio restaurant with its fresh products from their gardens, Marcello Labate proposes a workshop walk entitled Un albero per amico on Saturday, while on Sunday Marta Mingucci offers a workshop inspired by the book Disegnare un albero. Also, on both days at 3 p.m. there is a poetry writing workshop, Parole nel bosco with Lia Gallo.

At 6 p.m., ARPA Theatre Company presents Il principe ranocchio (The frog prince) for teens and children. And why not for you too, if you are still learning Italian?

All of these activities are proposed in Italian, but if you want to make an attempt they will be glad to welcome you. Tickets for all-day admission are 10 euros for adults, 7 euros for children. Sports footwear recommended. Compliance with the latest safety provisions in terms of social distancing and face masks is obligatory.

The Dello Scompiglio Project in the Vorno hills near Lucca was created and directed by Cecilia Bertoni to

Loving

Mother Nature

Un albero per amico

Il racconto degli alberi

Il racconto degli alberi

Il Principe ranocchio


his year in its seventh edition, Lucca Classica will take book by and about Ezio Bosso edited by Alessia Capelletti (Piemme, place from 3 July to 30 August with more than fifty 2021). The tribute to Ezio Bosso will continue on 24 and 25 July with events, in some of the most beautiful places in the city. two days in the church of San Francesco. Some of the musicians who T Meaningfully, Lucca Classica will begin this year at the worked with the Maestro for years will share with the public their

San Luca Hospital, as it did last year, with a concert by the Italian open rehearsals and performances of compositions by Bosso himself.Cello Duo, on Saturday 3 July at 4:30 p.m.

The Festival is promoted by the Lucchese Music Association SILENT CONCERT(AML) and the Teatro del Giglio, with the invaluable support of On Saturday 3 July at Marlia’s Villa Reale, the Festival will the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Foundation. offer a highly evocative experience. The audience will be

Among the highlights, violinist Anna Tifu will perform completely immersed in the music and surrounding environment. together with the Boccherini Orchestra in a concert in memory of The Silent wifi concert® for silent piano and nocturnal

suggestions was conceived by Andrea Vizzini. Participants will be provided with high fidelity headphones with which to listen to Vizzini’s nocturnal music, inspired by the moon. Moving within a 500 meter radius, listeners can enjoy the natural and architectural suggestions surrounding them, experiencing the music with all their senses and becoming natural protagonists of a performance that includes their movements and their emotional reactions.

PIEVE A ELICI CONCERTS As in 2020, Lucca Classica will host the project initially

conceived by Marcello Parducci for the AML concerts at Pieve a Elici. This year ten concerts will be held, in the Santa Caterina cloister of the Real Collegio and in the Boccherini Auditorium.

TRIBUTE TO DANTEAs part of the itinerary dedicated to Dante Alighieri (included

in the official celebrations of the Dante 700 National Committee), musician Ezio Bosso. There will be events commemorating the there are many events planned. For example, there are concerts seven hundredth anniversary of Dante's Divine Comedy, and a and open rehearsals of the Orchestra of the ISSM Boccherini special performance in honor of Andrea Camilleri (the novelist conducted by GianPaolo Mazzoli with the choir of female voices whose fame is often linked to that of his protagonist the Sicilian directed by Sara Matteucci, and Liszt's Dante-Symphonie, S 109 detective Montalbano). (22 July in San Francesco). Children and families will enjoy

The Festival's distinctive character remains unchanged. appointments with Alessio Puccio, the voice actor who lent his Music and Places features itineraries to discover the national voice to Harry Potter, as Alessio tells the story of Dante. museums of Villa Guinigi and Palazzo Mansi, Lucca Center for Contemporary Art, Palazzo Pfanner, Villa Reale in Marlia, Lucca's CAMILLERIBotanical Garden, and the Puccini Museum. Furthermore, there On 27 August at the Boccherini Auditorium, cellist Michele are the Dante 700 events dedicated to the Sublime Poet; The Marco Rossi with Paolo Aralla at electronics will give an anniversaries with concerts dedicated to Piazzolla, Stravinskij, extraordinary performance entitled Intelletto d'amore and other and Saint-Saëns, and an in-depth study on Napoleon Bonaparte. lies, born from Rossi's meeting with Andrea Camilleri a month And again, appointments for children and families (also at Villa before his death.Bertelli in Forte dei Marmi and at the summer arena in Capannori), a look at contemporary music with chamber works by the Puccini DIALOGUESChamber Opera Festival, a memorial to Lucca musician Fabio New this year, the Dialogues section offers book Neri offered by Fabrizio Giovannelli, and throughout the festival, presentations and conversations with personalities from the engaging open rehearsals. musical world. The guests include violinist Laura Marzadori with

Lucca Classica will honor Ezio Bosso, who died just over a year Massimo Marsili, musicologist Giovanni Bietti, Paolo Fazioli ago, with a multi-day project, created in agreement with the with Sandro Cappelletto, and Paolo Bolpagni with Oreste Bossini.Maestro's family. On July 17, in the church of San Francesco, the ISSM Boccherini Orchestra conducted by GianPaolo Mazzoli will The complete concert program and guest list will soon be online join violinist Anna Tifu for the Concerto for violin and orchestra in on the website www.luccaclassica.it. D major op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven. On July 18 there will be a Hours of the ticket office for pre-sales will be communicated in presentation of Faccio musica. Writings and scattered thoughts, the the local press and via social media.

Anna Tifu

Lucca Classica


Stop Anglicisms in Italian!

Franco Battiato. Addio, Cinghiale Bianco

ollowing certain controversies in the municipality of The other day a friend Bagni di Lucca regarding the use of other languages in was talking to me about official procedural documents, I wish to contribute to 'smartworking'. Sorry but F this discussion. Enough of these Anglicisms that are there is the word telelavoro to

always entering the beautiful Italian language like an invasion of describe this mode of rats in the city! operation which is being used

In just one sentence, delivered during the RAI news this more than ever during the morning, I noticed five of these deadly sins against the Italian pandemic.language. Here they are: If I hear another Italian

Benchmark – literally 'sign on the bench' but used in who, meeting today, uses a surveying. Today more than ever it signifies the measure of ghastly Anglicism, I will quality. So why not say prestazione? correct him/her immediately.

The under sessanta. There is, however, an Italian word to say And if the person offers an apology that Italian is now spoken like 'under'. Use it! The sotto sessanta. Like the 'over sixties'. Why not this, I will reply that when Dante wrote the Divine Comedy, the say sopra sessanta instead? English language was not yet in currency in the British Isles,

Then there is 'welfare'. The English word 'welfare' means which instead used Celtic (still spoken in Ireland, Scotland and, 'well-being' and 'public welfare' means 'public health'. Thus the especially, Wales) or Middle English. In addition I would say that use of the English term in the Italian language is incorrect. The it was the English who have been thieves of Italian vocabulary, phrase benessere sociale should be used instead. Then in English especially in terms of music. For example, Allegro, andante, lento there are no genders of nouns such as masculine and feminine in describe the tempi (or tempos?) in English musical scores instead Italian. So why should 'welfare' be a masculine noun in Italian? of 'happy', 'at a walking pace', 'slow' (pace Percy Grainger). Not to Could it not be equally feminine? mention artistic terms such as chiaroscuro, etc.

The most terrible of all these sordid Anglicisms is the Why not be ashamed of abusing the Italian language in this infamous recovery plan nazionale. Now 'recovery' in English philistine way?means restitution to health. Pronounced by an Italian, you seem to hear the word ricovero or 'hospitalization', which means – by Francis Pettittsomething entirely different: a person that has been admitted to a You can follow Francis’ blog at hospital for treatment. Say Piano di Recupero, please! http://longoio3.wordpress.com

1974, Festival di Re Nudo, near Como

Full hotels in Tunis For summer holidays

Sometimes a thunderstorm didn't let us out

An old manoften offered me Turkish cigarettes, but

I hope the era returns soon Of the white boar


Singer-songwriter, artist, philosopher, voice of a generation. 1945-2021. Rest in peace.

L’era del cinghiale bianco is one of Franco’s most popular songs, presented here in English translation. The cinghiale bianco (white boar) was a spirit animal from Italian Celtic culture.

Indescribable fragrances In the evening air

Damascus students All dressed the same

The shadow of my identity While I was sitting in the cinema or in a bar

But I hope the era returns soonOf the white boar



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ground floor, with parking space, garden. 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living/dining/kitchen, storage room. approx. 70sqm. €142,000. Tel. 320 0879190. (Ref. 1237)

Enchanting country home

700m from hill village with shop, restaurants near Bagni di Lucca, on a bus line, 40 minutes from Lucca, ideal for families, remote work-ers, artists, B&B, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, fast Wifi, great kitchen. Restored with maximum respect for local aesthetics. Swimming pool (10x5) with solar panels, beautiful gardens, 1 hectare, olive grove. Spectacular views over Apuan Alps. €785,000. (Ref. 1252)

RIVERFRONT PROPERTY Ideal for fishermen & bathers, facing the Serchio River at the foot of the Brancoli hills. Early 1900s estate with traditional tile & parquet floors, fitted kitchen, marble stairs, wooden railings, etc. Can be a single home (5-6 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3 floors) or 2 apartments (total 408 sqm). The large garden with trees & olives is bounded by a mule track & old stone wall. Terrace near the kitchen, ideal for dining al fresco. The house is separated from the road by a secure gate. Parking for 4-5 cars inside the property & along the river. € 370,000 negotiable. (Ref. 1179)

Near PescagliaIn the Alpi Apuane . alt., approx. 35-40 km from Lucca. Fantastic views to Livorno & Tuscan islands, trails all around. Rebuilt house with 4 entrances, to be com-pleted to your taste. Fine stonework, wooden floors, beams, panoramic picture windows. Partially habitable, potentially 4 independent units. €210,000. (Ref. 1261)

Regional Park 950m Albiano (near Barga). Independent apartment (approx. 150sqm) with panoramic garden & terrace (50sqm, On two floors: entrance hall, living room, dining room, kitchen/dining room on ground floor. 3 bedrooms on 1st floor. Bathroom with bathtub. Oil fired central heating (boiler installed in 2014). Double glazed windows with aluminum shutters. Energy Rating: G. Bus stop @ 40mt, train station @ 5 km, post office @ 4.5 km, news agent @ 4.5 km, café/restaurant @ 50mt. Price € 165,000. (Ref. 1188)

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SOLD

Also visible at

www.luccagrapevine.com

For more information: [email protected]

500M FROM

LIDO DI CAMAIORE BEACH

Large home (240 sqm) with garden. 4 bed-rooms, 3 baths. Fully equipped kitchen. Wrap-around terrace at 1st floor. Garage. APE Cl. G. €580,000. (Ref. 1194)

Between Lucca and Pisa

Enchanting 18th century villa that sleeps 14 (8 bedrooms with A/C, 6 bathrooms). Already booked by seasonal renters for much of the summer. In its 2 hectares of beautiful gardens & forests you will find a gazebo, green-house, swimming pool, rare plants, even parrots! Conveniently located in a quiet village just a short bike ride from the sea. Buses pass the gates hourly. APE Cl. G. 3.5 million euros. (Ref. 1197)

In the heart of Lucca, 2 elegant top-floor (70 steps up) apartments originally from the 1600s with many beautiful features such as tiled (Tessieri) or terracotta floors, 4m ceilings, some frescoed ceilings, skylights exposed beams, open fireplace, windows looking over Via Fillungo & towards Torre delle Ore. The apartments have been merged into one, but they can easily be restored to their original situation, with separate entrances. Each would then have 1-2 bedrooms, bath, living & large kitchen (approx. 110sqm x 2, 220sqm total). €410,000 each, must be purchased together. Ideal for friends or family wanting 2 adjacent apartments or rental apartment. (Ref. 1184)

Office space that can be changed into an apartment. Three rooms on the ground floor of an historic building in Lucca Centro

Storico. €130,000. (Ref. 1241)

Lucca, outside Porta Elisa

Spacious first-floor apartment (120 sqm, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths) with 2 terraces, garage. Very convenient to the city center. €235,000.

LUCCA CENTRO STORICO

Spacious first-floor apartment with living, kitchen, dining rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. A/C kitchen. 110sqm plus 36sqm garage. €285,000. APE Cl. G. (Ref. 1247)

PROPERTIES FOR SALE OR RENT by owner

Massarosa, near Massaciuccoli

Spacious townhouse of c.240 sqm, on 3 floors: 1st - entrance hall, parlor, kitchen, garage. 2nd - 3 bedrooms + bath. 3rd - unfinished 3 rooms with beams, nice potential. Large garage + parking for 2 cars, which could also serve as private patio. No garden. €180,000. Energy category G. (Ref. 1255)

Capannori, 5 km to Lucca Centro

Beautiful gated family home with 2 kitchens, 4 bathrooms, 6-7 bedrooms, 300 sqm total. In traditional Tuscan style with solar panels, wood & gas burning fireplace, A/C, veranda shading the home in summer. On a quiet coun-try road with views in all directions. This could be the ideal home for an extended family, small farm, or hospitality project. APE Cl. D. € 390,000. (Ref.1228)


ApartmentWanted to Buy

2 bedrooms 2 bathsin Lucca Centro Storico

for walking to shops, restaurants, train station.

Terrace, view appreciated.

Contact Grapevine.

Charming country house facing west (towards the sea), near the village of Fiano. 130 mq. plus land. 3-4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 fireplaces. Olives, fruit trees. €130,000. (Ref. 1243)


6. Puccini's landscape paintings, especially from Digne in the A special section of the exhibition evokes Van Gogh's Il Maritime Alps, where Puccini stayed between 1910 and 1912, giardiniere (The Gardener), the first painting that the Dutch and his paintings from his time in Versilia and Seravezza painter ever showed in Italy, in Florence in 1910. Puccini surely (where he viewed and painted the transportation of marble would have seen and admired it.using oxen), then too in Castiglioncello and the Maremma region. Livorno, Museo della Città

7. Here we see Puccini's preferences in terms of humanity: the Piazza del Luogo Pio, 57123 Livornodaily life of the people and laborers, children sitting on the Tel. 0586 824551doorsteps of their humble homes, farm-workers in the fields. http://museodellacitta.comune.livorno.it/museoPuccini loved the silence and simplicity of the countryside, Hours: Tuesdays to Thursdays 10am to 8pmlife's anti-heroic dimension. Fridays to Sundays 10am to 10m

8. Presented here are a selection of portraits and still lifes, which Tickets: €8 (reduced, €5)beginning in 1911 began to have commercial success, thanks Guided visit (by reservation), €2also to his friends Benvenuti and Pierotti della Sanguigna.

Mario Puccini, Bambina che prega

Mario Puccini, Mercato di montoni a Digne

Mario Puccini, Strada nel bosco

Phase 1 Phase 2

Phase 3 Phase 4he admired, along with Cézanne. In 1910 the first Florentine Mario Puccini, involuntary Van Gogh exhibition was held for the great Impressionist artists Van Gogh, A re-discovered collection and other masterpiecesCézanne, and Gauguin. These, along with friends and fellow students of Fattori Alfredo Müller and Plinio Nomellini, had a

his new exhibition at the City of Livorno Museum, from tremendous impact on Puccini. At this time he was painting 2 July to 19 September 2021, is a re-discovery of an portraits, still-lifes, scenes of the Livorno port, and above all, important collection of Mario Puccini's paintings. Many landscapes, demonstrating a richly sensitive and chromatic T of these works were never, or only rarely, exhibited lyricism.

before. Mario Puccini (born in Livorno in 1869, died in Florence in Over one hundred works are gathered here, some of these on 1920 – no relation to Giacomo Puccini) was a Macchiaiolo artist loan from the Rome Museum of Modern Art and the Uffizi defined by Emilio Cecchi in 1913 as an “involuntary Van Gogh”. Galleries. There are eight sections:This show, curated by Nadia Marcioni, celebrates the centenary of 1. The young artist, a student of Fattori at the Accademia in the artist's death and builds upon research done for an earlier Florence alongside Plinio Nomellini.exhibition at the Mediceo Palace of Seravezza (2015). 2. Documentary materials from the period of Puccini's reclusion

The exhibition traces the development of Puccini's career, at the mental hospitals (1893-1898) and three self-portraits beginning with works from the late 1800s that show the influence made between 1912 and 1914.of Fattori and Lega, then his mature colorist period that developed 3. A confrontation of the artist and others (Bartolena, Benvenuti, after the five years he spent in hospitals at Livorno and Siena, Ghiglia, Ulvi Liegi, Micheli), showing the strong connection to recovering from demenzia primitiva. He was released from the Fattori and the influence of the European sensibility towards psychiatric hospitals in 1898, “not cured”, into the custody of his Impressionism, Divisionism, and Symbolism.father. This is another reason for the comparison to Van Gogh, who 4. Puccini's return to painting after his silence during the second

half of the 1890s, with a focus on the environment rather than on human figures, especially in the context of Livorno, with a vision that is both realistic and visionary. In the early 1900s, the artist's formal language radically changes, moving away from the teachings of Fattori, towards a special use of light inspired both by Livorno and by Van Gogh, resembling the French post-Impressionist climate.

5. Two large important paintings by Puccini on the theme of Il Lazzaretto di Livorno (the hospital for patients with incurable or contagious diseases), which decorated the Caffé Bardi in Livorno's Piazza Cavour (a sort of post-Macchiaoli Caffé Michelangelo, where the artists of Livorno gathered around the year 1909). Also shown are works by other artists, that were on display at the now defunct Caffé Bardi. One of Puccini's drawings is contrasted to Modigliani's Portrait of Aristide Sommati. The next room is dedicated to the artist's large-format drawings in pencil and charcoal of city streets, ports, landscapes, animals, farmers, and models, showing the influence of Fattori.

Livorno’s Van Gogh, Mario Puccini

Mario Puccini, Il ponte alla sassaia

Mario Puccini, Oliveto con contadinella e bufali GAM Roma


In September 1944, the Charterhouse monks opened their d

me to mind about this small village, only a short drive into the Lucchese countryside. More importantly for me, however, was trying to work out how best to utilise the fresh harvest we had reaped from our Sunday morning drive to Farneta.

– by Sue Perry

Carthusian monastic life has sometimes seemed out of sync with oors to troops who said they came bearing gifts for the abbey. the world. Each stone hermitage contained a wood-turning lathe, and

Instead, they broke into the monastery to arrest 32 Partisans and each monk had his own little garden entrusted to his care. The monks Jews who were being sheltered in the monastery. Some, luckily, lived each day in prayer, study, and work. The Carthusian rule of were able to escape. Six monks and six lay brothers were arrested, silence still exists today and is interrupted only on feast days and for tortured, then killed by firing squad. Among the Carthusians brief periods of time. No women have ever been allowed within, and killed were two Germans, one Swiss, one Venezuelan and one today only a very small number of monks remain.Spaniard. A plaque at the entrance of the Making our way back to Lucca, monastery, dedicated on 20 January 1985, carefully holding our gift of ricotta and nearly four decades after the event, reads eggs, many questions ca(in translation):

Forty years after the Liberation, the Association of the Resistance Fighters in Lucchesia and the Municipal Authorities of Lucca remember the martyrdom of six Carthusian fathers, six Carthusian brothers and 32 civilians in September of 1944. Nazi savagery imposed the same death both on the monks and on those who at the darkest hour had found brotherly hospitality in these sacred precincts. After the war, the monks remained

silent about the execution. However, in 2000 the Holy See requested a report from the monks be sent to the Commission of the New Martyrs. The monks who died now rest in peace within the confines of the cloister cemetery.

Across1 Tavola (5)4 Taut (4)8 Il cantare (7)9 Rhythm (5)10 Rane (4)11 Lab of ice (8)12 Giacomo I (5,3,5)15 Indebolito (8)17 Il nome di Allyson, la Jo nel

film Little Women (4)20 Logica (5)21 Topside (7)22 Kidneys (4)23 Canes (5)

Down1 Bizza di bimbo (7)2 I rob (4)3 Lezione d’inglese (7,6)4 Spegnere (4,3)5 All (f.) (5)6 Innkeeper (4)7 Strofe (6)12 Pietre preziose (6)13 EC chips (7)14 Riunire (7)16 Lagne (5)18 Dio greco d’amore;

Greek love god (4)19 Ebrei (4)

Some Anagrams for June

May solution

Clues in English have answers in Italian and vice versaThis month the clues in italic are anagrams. The rule is the same – if the anagram is in English, the solution is Italian and vice versa.

Cruciwordby Helen Askham


C A L E F T R A I TO E A A S E

W E S T L A B O H E M EV I S A E P

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U N F A I R O P E R A SU O XM A N O N L E S C A U TB U D V U G

D E M O L I R E S U O RR R N N E LS T A G E T O S C A

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photo by Celinda Shannon

fter living in Lucca for four years, we continue to search the surrounding villages that reveal amazing the gift we offered. In return, she insisted we take home some of pasts and such interesting people each time we venture her freshly prepared ricotta and eggs. Take a gift and get a gift. It A out into the local countryside. On a recent sunny was a great Sunday so far!

Sunday morning, we were asked to deliver a couple of parce We wandered back to the church entrance to take more photos and see if we could learn a little more about this fascinating area. We learnt that the church building was a Charterhouse, more commonly known as a 'Carthusian monastery', which is usually represented by a typical architectural complex consisting of two cloisters adjacent to a church. This one, known as the Certosa di Farneta (or Certosa di Santo Spirito di Farneta, or Certosa di Maggiano), was founded in the early 14th century. It has had a

long history in the area. In the 17th century, painters worked on the interior of the church, including the cupola and two altarpieces. The monastery was suppressed by Napoleonic forces in 1809, only to be re-occupied later in the 19th century.

open door, she greeted us with a smile and was happy to receive

ls near the tiny village of Farneta. The sender of the parcels told us that to find one of the recipients, we had to look for a 'shepherd'!

We didn't see many sheep as we drove through the area, but apparently, they could always be found somewhere along a narrow winding road in this picturesque town. Easy thing to do, or so we thought: countryside, quiet Sunday, search for sheep, a shepherd, and his dog. So off we went in search of the elusive shepherd.

It was a beautiful morning to enjoy the scenery and take photos. We went up an unpaved road that gave us a view of the surrounds below – perfect for 'shepherd spotting'. From afar, we could see a stone wall stretching into the distance that then seemingly wrapped itself around the tiny village within. A row of dwellings stood in front of us. Nearby, within the walls were perfectly manicured pastures, and off in the distance there was a church steeple. As we approached, we spotted the sheep, the shepherd, and his faithful dog keeping the sheep in a huddle.

All we had to do was find the entrance to the pasture and deliver the gift to the shepherd. So we went back down towards the huge expansive wall, driving towards the steeple. We parked the car and walked up to the church doors to see if we could get through to the pastures, but they were closed!

What to do next? A passer-by told us that the little shop under the tree opposite the church entrance was owned by the shepherd’s wife. Sure enough, as we approached, we could see her busily making cheese. As we walked towards the


The Shepherd at Farneta

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Beer with dinner? A delicious pairing

of

www.LightTraveling.org

Of course, part of the fun is in sampling all of the flavors and Ridolfi says brew-masters are also researchers. From raw discovering what speaks to your individual palette. And, naturally,

materials and technologies for the type of beer, to the study of nothing beats sampling products where they are made. As long as recipes and analysis changes needed to produce one beer restrictions allow, many breweries have plans in the works for instead of another, he explains. And, as with wine, there's art and outdoor events and tastings this summer. Baldoccini says his science to pairing the right beer with foods, to enhance flavors in biggest hope is to see people gather together again. This is not only both glass and plate. for our company, but because there is a need for sociability. And

For an interesting taste experience, Birrificio del Forte beer is sociability, he says. suggests sampling the softly caramelized flavor of La Mancina

I'll raise a glass to that notion and hope you will, too. Saluti! with chicken meatballs and peppers. And, La Collina recommends tasting their light, slightly bitter South Hill with – by Jess Simpson, hearty peasant soup, while Toptà thinks their mildly-spicy Pepe Lucca resident and travel blogger at pairs brilliantly with fish crudités.


Taste for Yourself

Like most small businesses, local breweries have had to change and adapt to survive through this pandemic. For the nimble, pro-tech craft beer industry this has meant a shift toward more online sales and home delivery. Check out each brewery's range of products, here:

Birrificio del Forte https://www.birrificiodelforte.it/shop

Toptàhttps://topta.net/acquista-birre-on-line/

La Collina Trattoria and Birrificiohttps://trattorialacollina.it/en/brewery/

Brutonhttp://www.bruton.it/blog/negozio/

La Collina Trattoria and Birrificio Toptà

Toptà

What’s Brewing around Lucca

hen most people think about Tuscany – including those of us fortunate enough to call this W land of rolling hills home –

thoughts intertwine like vines around the promise of grape cultivation and harvest. Yet within this naturally wine-obsessed landscape, there's an abundance of space, freedom, and potential for another distinctly Tuscan creation.

Birra artigianale Toscana

It's a natural lineage when you consider the Etruscans are believed to be the original craft brewers of Italy, creating potent, tasty concoctions from available grains, fruits, and flowers. Today, Tuscany's innovative brewers tap into those traditions and ancient knowledge while continually exploring new techniques, ingredients, and flavor combinations.

Master brewer Francesco Mancini estimates there are approximately 100 small breweries operating in Tuscany, making the region one of Italy's most active in craft production. Alessandro Ridolfi of La Collina Trattoria and Birrificio From its location in Pietrasanta, his team at Birrificio del Forte believes, as with wine, there's magic in capturing the essence of creates an array of IPAs, golden ales, stouts, and porters. He place. He began the brewery, located in the hills of Pescaglia, in describes the brewery's unique environment, surrounded by 2018 as a natural extension of the family's trattoria – which marble quarries, foundries, and sculptors-at-work, as a heady celebrates its ten-year anniversary this summer. I believe the mix of exploration and innovation, where craftsmanship is terroir is very important. The ingredients such as barley and hops inherent in every breath. change a lot depending on the place where they are grown, the

Like many artisans, Mancini says his fascination with the craft latitudes, the soils, the continents where they are produced. For began early. My bond with beer started when I was young. I have instance, he explains that an identical type of hop grown in the always been fascinated and interested in this product. Since I was United States or Tuscany will result in very different a boy I have been interested in understanding its origins and its characteristics. So, I believe that, even if less evident than in wine, secrets. He began brewing at home, organizing tasting events for the terroir is a determining factor and to be taken into friends, and traveling around Europe to sample different consideration also for producing beer.productions and techniques. This passion soon led to the opening

Birrificio del Forte in 2011. Acclaim and awards followed, including the gold medal at the World Cup of Beer in 2018 for the Belgian-style strong ale La Mancina.

That's the same year which Bruton – established near Lucca in 2006 and considered a grandmaster of Tuscan brewing – claimed bronze for its namesake Bruton in the English-style summer ale category. Both wins helped to draw the world's attention to all that's brewing in the hills of Tuscany.

Luca of Montecarlo-based

Bruton's opening as the moment his eyes were opened to the possibilities. After that, we chose each other, he says. It was a natural thing.

Artisanal roots run deep

of

in

Where terroir and tradition blend

Baldaccini Toptà Brewery thinks it is the strong Italian wine tradition which naturally primes people to sample and appreciate artisanal beers. He's encouraged by the level of curiosity and interest in which people approach the world of craft beer, particularly in recent years. I am happy that they understand the work behind a craft product, but above all that they are happy with what they have in the glass and also that they want to experiment with beers different from the canonical industrial lagers. Part of the goal at Toptà is to understand individual tastes and serve as a guide to exploring this fascinating world, he says. When I asked if he chose brewing or it chose him, he credited

Lucca’s walls

Judith

ph

oto

by

Su

e P

erry

Birrificio del Forte, Pietrasanta

La Collina Trattoria and Birrificio


ave you enrolled in the Italian public health insurance system? And are you a proud owner of a tessera H sanitaria, but never really used it?

Welcome to Italian Healthcare 101, and my very first journey into the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, or SSN!

My husband and I retired and moved from the United States to Italy in 2019, where we eagerly joined the ranks of the citizenry of our beloved adopted country, and signed up with the SSN. We chose our general practitioner, and were thrilled to have free doctor visits and prescriptions filled at reasonable prices. Our plans were to use this incredible system to its fullest; this system, regarded by the World Health Organization as one of the best overall healthcare systems in the world.

But then the pandemic hit.Before this, my husband and I planned to have our first complete In order to simplify each medical visit, it is recommended that

physicals in 2020, but trying to be responsible citizens, we stayed you pay in advance for your appointment. In my case, we went to home. Then 2021 came, with the promise of a vaccine that would Campo di Marte return the world to some normalcy. However, up until recently, the vaccine rollout has been slow, so we waited some more.

Alas, one day I found myself in a position where I needed to see a specialist. Not warranting emergency care, but something that definitely needed attention, I decided to have a physical in spite of the current pandemic. But what to do? How does one begin this odyssey into the SSN that is so different from the healthcare I experienced in the U.S.?

After seeing my general practitioner and receiving various referrals (called prescrizioni or ricette) for specialists and lab work, I got in touch with a bilingual friend who is also well-versed in the Italian healthcare system. Norma, of Grapevine magazine editor fame, helped me tremendously with my first SSN experience beyond a general doctor's visit.

First, we had to visit a designated pharmacy where we could make various appointments within the province. In my instance, we went to a pharmacy with a do-it-yourself desk equipped with a here. Afterwards, I paid scanner attached to a phone. During specific hours, just pick up the at the CUP office in edificio B, and returned the receipt to the lab phone and scan each specialist's prescrizione while the customer tech. my lab work, I was told I would receive results within a service representative on the other end reads what is needed and week at the latest, but I had my results via email within 1-2 days.gives you the first available appointment within the province. If Then, once having received all results, I took them to my this isn't convenient, sometimes the rep can give you another general practitioner who made my diagnosis and recommenda-appointment option, but not always. Keep in mind any tions. Easy breezy!prescrizione for lab work gets taken directly to the lab, and does not get scheduled at the pharmacy. – by Mari and Ray Summers

(Lucca's older hospital in the San Marco neighborhood, walking distance from the historical center), edificio B. Here on the primo piano, there are machines called totems (pictured above), or what we call kiosks back in the States. There, you swipe your tessera sanitaria and pay. There is also a CUP (Centro Unico di Prenotazioni) office, with people designated to help you with payment. Just get a number and wait for the next available rep.

Then you are ready for your specialist appointments! Go to your appointment, register at the front desk, and visit the specialist. In my case, all the specialists had my results ready to hand me by the end of the appointment; however, this isn't always the case, and you may have to return for a brief consultation and your results. They can also be emailed to you or to your GP.

When I was ready to do my lab work, we went to Campo di Marte edificio E. There, between the hours of 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., I took my prescrizione to the lab's front desk, received paperwork authorizing the lab work, and had it done t

For

Italian Healthcare 101

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Recently on Facebook there was a discussion about books and films to help with learning Italian, both for adults and children.

About 20 years ago I went to visit Giuseppe Verdi's birthplace, Busseto, near Parma. To my surprise, I discovered that this little town was also the home of the Guareschi family, where the children of the author Giovanni Guareschi had opened a research center in their father's honor, alongside the Verdi home. In fact, this little museum, displaying Guareschi's cartoons and political and journalistic writings, supplemented what little I recalled from the Don Camillo stories.

The Little World of Don Camillo is the English title of Il Piccolo di Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi. This book (also film) is a very good choice

Whenever Don Camillo gets impatient with his antagonist for those who wish to learn Italian, both for its Peppone, a Communist who in theory doesn't believe in God, Don straightforward language and for its entertaining presentation of Camillo goes to have a chat with Jesus, who is over the altar on the postwar Italy. If you (or your children) become enthralled, you can church crucifix. Jesus usually answers Don Camillo by saying, Be read sequels to both the books and the films.patient, my son. Anger isn't the solution to anything. After their first When I was a young child, my father would read this book along surprising encounter, the conversations between priest and Jesus with me and we would laugh together, partly because my mother become more frequent.(though born in America) was an Italian, and also because my father,

Guareschi's wit is developed not only in his books, but also who had served in Morocco, France, and Italy during the war, could through artistic sketches and other stories. Don Camillo in relate to Guareschi's stories about Don Camillo and Peppone. particular was first serialized in the satirical publication Candido. The Catholic priest Don Camillo and the Communist mayor

Political humor and post-war value Peppone are childhood friends who systems may not attract all readers, and grow up to take different life paths in there are plenty of other good books to their little town near Parma and the Po read in Italian or about Italy. River, yet remain closely connected to Lampedusa's The Leopard or Collodi's each other and to the people of their Adventures of Pinocchio, for example, town. Guareschi was inspired by his will take you to Sicily or to Tuscany, own community. He also had a magical whether you choose to go there in Italian sense of humor. Soon his books would or in translation. Having both versions inspire the films that he himself had a at hand, side by side, is a great way to hand in making, starring that great practice the language, while immersing French comic actor Fernandel as Don yourself in the culture.Camillo and Gino Cervi as Peppone.

There was even a 1983 remake by – by Norma Jean BishopTerence Hill!

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Shampoo and dry €18.00

Cut €13.00/25.00

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ENGLISH-SPEAKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

LESSONS & COURSES

Accountants Vannucci & Associates. Viale San Concordio 710, 55100 Lucca. Tel. +39 0583 316636 - fax: +39 0583 419451. [email protected] - www.vannuccieassociati.it (Ref. 1103)

Accountant and Auditor Dott Paola Girolami (University of Pisa and Bristol U.K.). Via Delle Ville 354/A, Lucca. Tel +39 0583 471734, fax + 39 0583 471751 [email protected] - www.studiocommercialistagirolami.it English/French/Italian.

Dental Surgeon Dr Rogier Staal, University of Amsterdam. Amsterdam Dental Studio, Via Farnesi 25a, Lucca. Tel 0583 953633. Dutch/English/French/German/ Italian. email: [email protected]

Dental Surgeon Dr. Barbato & Dr. Cumbo. Via Fillungo 91, 55100 Lucca. Tel. 0583 492853.

Dental Surgeon and Dentist Dr. Carlo G.F. Martini. Studio Odontostomatologico Martini, Via Romana 231, 55100 Lucca. Tel 0583 467975, email: [email protected]

Lawyer Daria Mariani (English spoken). VISA, permesso di soggiorno, rental contracts, purchasing houses, EN translation of deeds, assistance before the Notary Public. [email protected] (Ref. 1191)

Lawyer Alberto Del Carlo. Admitted to the Italian High Courts, Piazzale Ricasoli, 241 – 55100 Lucca. Tel. 0583 494952, fax 0583 492352. [email protected] In the real estate field, Mr. Del Carlo works with surveyors (geometri) who speak English fluently.

Lawyer Ilaria Cipriani (Anglo/Italian). Via Nottolini 733, 55100 Lucca. Tel. 0583 1892444, fax 0583 1770173. [email protected]

Lawyer Enrico Lattanzi. Viale Carlo del Prete, Traversa I, 87 (in front of Palazzetto dello Sport), Lucca. Tel. (+39) 0583 584981, fax (+39) 0583 316172, cell. (+39) 347 4479061. [email protected], www.lawfirminitaly.com (Ref. 1204)

Translations Italian to English and English to Italian by experienced mother-tongue translators. Contact Grapevine. (Ref. 817)

Landscape design & Garden maintenance. Call Tommaso at cell. 349 284 5399 or email [email protected] www.luccalandscape.it (Ref. 572)

Removals Local, National, European and International relocation service. Servicing the UK with regular trips every 2-3 weeks. Full professional packing & export wrapping service. Friendly, experienced, professional Kiwi service. Contact Richard at [email protected] or 340 8748222. (Ref. 771)

Learn Italian while having fun: individual and group lessons with a qualified teacher of Italian to foreigners. Culture, conversation, Italian grammar and a good coffee! First lesson for free. S. Filippo area but possibility of meeting also in the historical center. For information: Tania Luciani, 328/6861335. [email protected] (Ref. 1244)

Private Italian classes Italian woman, speaks fluent English, offers individual/group les-sons. Beginners, intermediate, advanced. Help with interpreting assistance with relocat-ing. Can travel from Lucca. Anna Cell. 347 9194155 [email protected] (Ref. 267)

Spoken English private lessons. Contact Grapevine. (Ref. 1186)

Via Fiume 11, 50123 Firenze, Italy.

Looking for a babysitter? My name is Bethany-Rose and I am a mature, kind, patient and open-minded person looking to babysit in after-school hours (4.30pm-onwards)! I have lots of experience in childcare and I am very reliable. I am a native English speaker, so I am also able to provide conversational English practice for your children! References available upon request. Please email: [email protected] or Whatsapp: +39 347 444 5741. (Ref. 1262)

VARIOUS

U.S. TAX RETURNS FOR AMERICANS IN ITALY

Alexander v.Pinoci PAAL SERVICES USA, LLC (UStaxItaly)

email: [email protected] pec: [email protected]

Website: http://www.ustaxitaly.com/

Michigan USA tel: +1-808-316-0719

Rome ITALY tel: +39-06.9294.7508

cell: +39-328.162.0531 fax: +39-06.233.241.949

Grapevine cannot evaluate all the advertisements and assumes no responsibility for their content.

Design and installation gardens terraces and watering systems

Garden maintenanceTypical Tuscan gardens

tel 0583 316713Simone 335 [email protected]

www.ilcerchioverde.it

Il Cerchio Verde

To advertise, please use the form on our webpage or send us an email at: [email protected]

See also Properties for Sale on pages 12-13.

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TRITI REMOVALS AND STORAGEVia Don Emilio Angeli (già Via Stradone), 176

Segromigno in Piano, LuccaMondays to Saturdays 8am to 8pm

Tel. 0583 927945

[email protected]


YOUR BUSINESS

CARD HERE

Procedure:

1. Clean the meat from the fat, using only lean meat to make a good mixture. Chop everything very finely with a crescent chopper (mezzaluna).

2. Put the oil and the garlic clove in a pan and fry it over a gentle flame. As soon as the garlic is golden, remove it from the pan.

3. Add the tomato purée and cook it for 5 minutes, then add the minced meat and the sweet olives previously washed under running water.

4. Pour in the red wine, letting it evaporate. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar to your taste.Ingredients (for 4 people)

5. Stir frequently and keep it on a moderate fire until it becomes a nice sauce.4 ounces of boiled tender meat

6. Remove from the heat and place it on plates, with plenty 2 cups of tomato purée of slices of bread.2 bunches of sweet pickled olives

half glass of red wineWith such a joy, you can also make a slipper with the bread, which for extra virgin olive oil etiquette might not be allowed; but it is such an irresistible gesture that a clove of crushed garlic it's impossible not to do thissalt and pepper

a little pinch of sugar

.

– by Lucia Costa

Left to right: Nonna Giuseppina Del Chiaro,

Nonno Fortunato Dell'orfanello, Bisnonna Giulia Paganelli,

Mamma Giuliana Dell'orfanello (photos from the 1950s-1960s)

IntrullicchioThis was a quick meal that my mom's family called intrullicchio, or intingolo in correct Italian. It’s a dip-like mixture of some leftover ingredients, together creating an easy, tasty, and nutritious sauce.

Happy

Birthd

ay

Lucia!

From al

l of u

s on t

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Grapev

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For more information: [email protected] FOR SALE


a very beautiful panoramic restored rustic farm-house, 600sqm on 3 levels including appliances. PT: entrance hall, large living room and kitchen, both with fireplaces, pantry, bathroom, laundry, garage. First floor: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Second floor: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 2 attic rooms. Annex (60sqm): 3 rooms and bath. Swimming pool, pergolas. Olive groves.Energy class B. 1,200,000 euros. Ref. 1264

Historic villa built in 1618, restored between 1990-1993, with fantastic views overlooking Lucca. 615sqm. PT: Tavern, studio, kitchen, bedroom, bath, garage, limonaia. First floor: high ceilings, large atrium, leading to parlor, large kitchen with fireplace, dining room, 2 bedrooms, bath. Top floor: parlor, 2 studios, 2 baths, 2 bedrooms, kitchen. Outbuilding of 32sqm. Beautifully maintained park of 10,000+sqm. Fenced property. Ideal as a private home or for guest accommodation.

Energy class G. 1,295,000 euros. Ref. 1263

In the Garfagnana mountains, large country home with beautiful views, near Ponte della Villetta (one hour by train to Lucca). Raised ground floor: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, large kitchen, living room with fireplace facing onto the large terrace. Garden level, with separate entrance: tavern, fireplace, bath, bedroom, kitchen, storage area. Garage. External dining/cooking area, 6000sqm land.Energy class A. 220,000 euros. Ref. 1265

Ultra-modern, elegant, energy efficient home. This 210sqm villa being built in the hills between Lucca and Pescia, is near a medieval village where an angel attributed to Leonardo da Vinci was discovered and restored. The villa has solar & photovoltaic systems. On the land (1300sqm) plenty of space for a swimming pool. PT: Living room, 2 double bedrooms with en suite, dressing room, 3rd bedroom/studio. First floor: large kitchen with 45sqm terrace, laundry, bath, storage room, garage. Energy class A. 470,000 euros. Ref. 1266

RENDERING

In the hills of Lucca,

with a pool,

june 2021 g tuscany’s rapevine

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