Are you already deep in preparations for the Christmas festivities or are you instead trying to avoid what you feel is humbug? (No matter…like Scrooge you’ll change….I hope).
In the area around Bagni di Lucca seasonal festivities are in full swing. Festive lighting is springing up and the traditional presepe Christmas crib is appearing not only in its customary sites but also in new ones. Such is the case with the Fornoli presepe, near our vet, with its life-size statues supplied by the Fontanelli firm which has specialised in figurines for well over a century. I took pictures of it during the day.
And the scene is even more picturesque in the evening.
(Photo courtesy Marco Nicoli)
This week-end starting at 10 this Saturday 14 December until Sunday evening there’s la ‘Valle di Santa’. Santa Claus will land in Bagni di Lucca and for two days he will take up residence in the Villa Webb in the old part of Villa at the terme. There children can meet him and give him their letters. Meanwhile, the streets of the town will be filled with craft, food and wine market stands. There also be several street artists. As always, entry to Santa’s House is free.
Also starting this Saturday on December 7th it’s time for the third walk among the one hundred nativity scenes at Montefegatesi, our highest (at altitude 2762 feet) village. It’s part of the ‘Valle dei Presepi’ program. Actually, last year there were more than one hundred and eighty presepi! See my account of this amazing display last year at https://longoio3.com/2018/12/10/christnas-cribs-here-there-and-everywhere/.
The Montefegatesi day starts at 11 am with the opening of food and wine stands and Christmas markets. One can taste delicious local delicacies in a heated tent. At 3 pm Santa Claus arrives. At 4.00 pm there’s a procession with Christmas carols all the up to the Dante monument to place the Infant Jesus in the highest crib of the Commune. A flight of lanterns will take off into the skies accompanied by the reading of some poems by local poet Egeo Bartoli.
If you miss the show don’t worry; the cribs will be on display until 6 January.
The living crib at Pieve di Monte di Villa was postponed from last Sunday to this Sunday 8th December because of bad weather. This time the met has set the day as fair and so it should be after all the catastrophic rainfall we’ve been getting every day since the end of October! This living presepe is shared among three enterprising villages in our comune: Granaiola, Monti di Villa and Pieve di Monti di Villa, This year it’s the latter who will have the honour of hosting the event. It’ll have a hard task to beat last year’s display at Monti di Villa which I described in my post at https://longoio3.com/2018/12/03/a-living-christmas-in-the-appenines/
Do leave your car at the Villa Fiori car park at Ponte a Serraglio and take the shuttle bus there in order to avoid clogging up the narrow roads!
It’s also time for the next concert in the ‘Incontri Musicali – i luoghi del bello e della cultura’ series. This one takes place on Sunday 8th December at 5.15 PM at Valdottavo’s Colombo theatre and features the “The Wagons” ensemble playing an original selection of music by seven composers from the four corner of the world and devised by Girolamo Deraco and Alessandro Sesti. Knowing the quality of the last three concerts (the only ones, unfortunately I was able to attend) I am really looking forwards to being present at this one!
There is a panoply of other events coinciding with these in our valley but unfortunately (or not?) we can’t all be cloned so I’ve only chosen the above as being the most representative of this weather-wisely superb opening to Christmas season. I hope that those of you here will be able to make it to some of them and support our valley’s truly remarkable creative initiatives.