5/26/2024 Transfer to Lucca

We traveled through the Lunigiana Valley and the Apennine Mountains, with their verdant rolling hills and winding rivers.

Luckily, we stopped in Pontremoli, a medieval town dominated by a restored hilltop castle and a lively square with a medieval festival and a book festival.

The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, was the winning book the first time the festival was held. (Not one of my favorites.)

This year, the winner was a children's book. The open book above is actually a bench in a small courtyard. (Very cool).

The Pontremoli Cathedral of the Madonna, which was an Episcopal seat until 1989, is one of the most intriguing sites in Pontremoli. 

Given Mary's genetic background, this unique depiction of the Madonna as a dark wooden statue of the Madonna holding her baby is quite accurate.

When the Bubonic plague of 1622 decimated the population, the people prayed to the Madonna and promised to provide enough wax to illuminate the church for almost a year.

When the disease returned in 1630, they promised a sacred image and erected a new temple. Every year, on July 2nd, they celebrate with a large procession through the town.

 

Can you imagine living in this house with so many tourists traipsing through your ground floor entrance all day long 

when they cross the river bridge?

The innocent-looking Amor is a cookie with an ancient secret recipe, traced as far back as the Napoleonic era (18th-19th century) and brought to Lunigiana by the Swiss immigrants.

It's best to lick the exterior as best you can 

before the interior cream explodes when you press the top and bottom.

Betty demonstrates the possible outcome.

Testaroli al Pesto?

Pagani Sergio's Testarolo. Where an unusual regional pasta made from egg-free dough starts as a flatbread 

and ends as a pesto pasta.

(Photo credit Betty Potenza)

Lucca Information Center

Covert Secret Agents Martina and Barb 

(Photo credit Betty Potenza)

I was directed to hand off the precious FBI-locked steel case 

containing overpriced $100 whispers once we crossed the halfway mark of the small plaza in front of the Lucca information center. 

The only thing missing was a handcuff connecting my wrist to the handle.

When asked, Julia (our main trip leader) created a password, 

and we happily completed our transaction.

We sadly parted from Captain Martina. Our group of 7 became 16, followed by a welcome briefing and a walking tour of Lucca with our local guide, Maria.

Don't be fooled by the emptiness of the entrance to the street of our hotel. Cars, trucks, vans, bicycles, and even trains! But the bicycles were the worst by far.

Street Art.

Gargoyles and bas relief entrance doors.