Random Observations From a Random Saturday Evening in Lucca

We went out late yesterday afternoon to shop for souvenirs and grab dinner.  Lucca is not known for nightlife, generally quiet after 9 p.m., and that suits us fine, as we are not night owls, but late Saturday afternoon/early Saturday evening was a flurry of activity.

There were a lot of shoppers on Via Fillungo, and it soon became apparent why.  In the past couple of days a lot of shops have posted “Saldi” signs in the windows, signifying major sales.  Most of the Saldi are for clothes, but I did see one store apparently selling nude mannequins for 40-60% off.  Unfortunately there will not be room in the suitcase.

Shelley wanted to go back to the Olivart stall she had seen earlier on Via San Paolino near Piazza San Michele in the heart of the city.  When the olive tree stops producing fruit, its wood is useful and even desirable, and since 1980 Stefano Gemignani has been producing Olive-wood handicrafts using an old-fashioned lathe at his workshop in Monsagrati Alto, a small hamlet located in the rolling hills 12 kilometers from Lucca.  The Olivart stand is open Thursday-Saturday, and Shelley had seen a couple of things that interested her.

While we were making our purchases we heard the sound of drums nearby.  A week ago we had caught a glimpse of a drum and flag corps parading up Via Fillungo late Friday afternoon, and so we went to get a better view.  By the time we found them they were at parade rest at a ceremony for a little street arts festival.  We were hoping to get pictures of them marching but all we heard were ten or fifteen minutes of speeches.

It was dinner time, and our hunger won out over our patience, but we had no sooner left than the sound of drums started up and they seemed to be following us.  We decided to eat at Lo Skianto, located next to the wall (we had noticed it while walking the wall last week).  The late afternoon sun was hot, and we ordered salad, pizza, and beer, all of which hit the spot.  As we sat there enjoying our meal, I took in the sights of Lucca.

There was lots of activity on the wall, both walkers and bicyclers.  My original plan was to rent bikes for a month and ride daily, and I wish I had done that, but the cost is prohibitive and we would have to store a bike at the top of our 51-step climb to the apartment.  I am determined to rent a bike and ride around the wall and around town at least 3-4 times over the next couple of weeks.

Lo Skianto is located right across from a small merry-go-round, and parents were bringing their small children to ride.  In the same vicinity, I observed two different brides in their wedding dresses having pre-wedding pictures taken with their husbands-to-be.  There were also plenty of people out sampling a gelato, another local (Italian) treat we have yet to sample, but have no fear, we’ll also make up for that.  Shelley wonders if Lucca might not have the highest per capita occurrence of gelateria of any place in the world.

Shelley also wondered how many of the people we were seeing are tourists.  Lucca has a reputation of being less touristy than other Tuscan cities, but we can’t imagine that most of the people on the street last night were locals.  In addition to gelateria, Shelley has also noticed a high number of people in Lucca wearing Converse sneakers, including teenaged girls wearing Converse high tops as a fashion statement.  I offered to buy Shelley a pair so that she might fit in, but she declined my offer.

Returning to the apartment, we settled in for an evening of reading as we prepared to go to Pisa Airport in the morning to meet J.D., who is coming to visit for a week, and I found a nice surprise there as well.  I am reading Dan Brown’s Inferno, which is set largely in Florence, and for just a minute I thought there was going to be a scene set in Lucca.  It turned out to be a false alarm, or more correctly a red herring.  In the book, the hero and heroine arrange for a flight from an airport near Lucca, but it only a ruse to throw off the bad guys chasing them.  Their loss.

CORRECTION:  Shelley’s older brother Kent informs us that her grandfather, Louis Giannotti, did not immigrate to the United States from Barga, as reported yesterday.  His parents left Italy and he was born in America.