Celebrating Santa Zita this year took us away from the well-known flower market in Lucca’s city centre and instead up into the hills, to Monsagrati Alto, traditionally associated with the saint’s local devotional landscape.
The small chapel dedicated to Santa Zita, recently restored after having fallen into serious disrepair, is not far from the heart of the village. It sits just a short walk from the main cluster of houses, close enough to feel part of everyday life rather than something isolated or remote. The restoration has brought it back into use in a careful way, stabilising the structure while keeping its modest, aged character intact.

Compared with Lucca, the atmosphere was immediately different. There was no urban spectacle, no dense crowd, and no sense of performance. Instead, everything felt rooted in the village itself, shaped by its rhythm and surroundings.
We spent most of our time around the church area, which had been beautifully decorated with flowers for the occasion. Inside, the stone space was softened by fresh arrangements, clearly prepared by local hands. It felt simple and sincere—more an act of care than display.
Outside, a small handicraft market filled part of the space near the church and along the approach to it. There were handmade goods, local products, and simple stalls that reflected the character of the area. It felt like something created for the community first, with visitors gently included rather than targeted.

Food was an important part of the day. Among the homemade cakes and savoury dishes, we especially enjoyed a spinach and herb cake, a traditional Tuscan speciality. It was simple but full of flavour—earthy greens in a soft rustic base—and it suited the setting perfectly. Everything about the food felt homemade and shared, rather than presented.

As the afternoon moved towards evening, a local band arrived to prepare for the procession. Their enthusiasm was unmistakable—even if the tuning occasionally wasn’t quite there. It added a charming imperfection to the moment, the kind that belongs to village celebrations rather than formal performances. There was a slow, unforced build-up: people gathering, instruments sounding out, conversations continuing. Nothing felt staged, only gradually unfolding.

Compared with the more famous celebration in Lucca’s city centre, Monsagrati Alto felt smaller and quieter, but also more grounded. It did not feel designed for visitors or spectacle, but like a tradition continuing naturally within its own place.
What stayed with us most was the sincerity of it all. The celebration of Santa Zita here was not something performed—it was something lived, through flowers, food, music, and the steady rhythm of a village returning to its chapel each year.

Festeggiando Santa Zita. Ma non al mercato dei fiori nell’anfiteatro di Lucca. Eravamo invece a Monsagrati Alto, luogo di nascita della santa. Chiesa splendidamente fiorita, mercato artigianale, dolci deliziosi e l’arrivo della banda musicale per la processione serale… un po’ meno spettacolare e affollata della festa di Lucca, ma forse più genuinamente sentita.

How we spent our Easter:

Mass at Convento dell’Angelo with Passionate Father and Maestro Kuhn’s fine singers.

Lunch at home with antipasto, lasagne, galletto, Sandra’s tiramisu and my trifle.

Come abbiamo trascorso la Pasqua:

Messa al Convento dell’Angelo con Padre Passionista e gli ottimi cantori del Maestro Kuhn.

Pranzo a casa con antipasto, lasagne, galletto, il tiramisù di Sandra e il mio trifle.

The best place to be at in yesterday’s very rainy day was in Brancoli’s Museo della Memoria with its valuable collection of World War II relics. Here Anna Valencia presented her novel ‘The Chestnut House’ in my new Italian translation: ‘La Casa Delle Castagne’ published by Tralerighe. It was a great send-off for this gripping story of love and war set in our valley of the Serchio. A tour of the Museum by it’s committee concluded a Palm Sunday which cries out for peace in so many parts of the world.

Il posto migliore da visitare nella giornata di ieri, piovosissima, è stato il Museo della Memoria di Brancoli, con la sua preziosa collezione di cimeli della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Qui è stato presentato il romanzo di Anna Valencia “La Casa delle Castagne” nella sua nuova traduzione italiana: “La Casa delle Castagne”, edito da Tralerighe. È stato un grande saluto a questa avvincente storia d’amore e di guerra ambientata nella nostra valle del Serchio. Una visita al Museo ha concluso una Domenica delle Palme che grida a gran voce la pace in tante parti del mondo.

Borgo a Mozzano’s ever-colourful Azalea Festival this week-end: flowers, festivities and fun for all the family.

Questo fine settimana, la coloratissima Festa dell’Azalea di Borgo a Mozzano: fiori, mercatini e svaghi per tutta la famiglia.

“And so we came forth to see the stars again” quoted King Charles at the end of his speech to both houses of the Italian Parliament, the first time ever a British monarch has addressed them.

Of course the quote is taken from the end of Dante’s ‘Inferno’ but I could not help feeling that King Charles may have hinted at the hope that, after the darkness of the past nine years, the United Kingdom could soon see its own star back on the starry European Union flag. It

“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle”, ha citato Re Carlo al termine del suo discorso alle Camere del Parlamento italiano, la prima volta in assoluto che un monarca britannico si rivolgeva a loro.

Naturalmente la citazione è tratta dalla fine dell’Inferno di Dante, ma non ho potuto fare a meno di pensare che Re Carlo potesse aver accennato alla speranza che, dopo l’oscurità degli ultimi nove anni, il Regno Unito potesse presto rivedere la propria stella sulla bandiera stellata dell’Unione Europea.

Last night we attended the start of the National Amateur Theatrical festival at Ponte a Moriano’s revamped Teatro Nieri with a performance of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer prize play ‘Our Town’. It was a very idiomatic and quite touching production, very well acted, and we look forwards to seeing further plays here. (PS there are no super titles for non-Italian speakers.)

Ieri sera abbiamo assistito all’inizio del Festival di teatro amatoriale presso il rinnovato Teatro Nieri di Ponte a Moriano con una rappresentazione di ‘La Piccola Città’, la commedia di Thornton Wilder, vincitrice del premio Pulitzer, “Our Town”. Eseguita dalla compagnia del teatro ‘Piccola Ribalta’ di Pesaro sotto la direzione di Maurizio Garattoni e’ stata una produzione idiomatica, toccante e ben recitata. Non vediamo l’ora di vedere le prossime opere al teatro elencate nel programma qua sotto.

We discovered a camellietum yesterday at Piegaio Alto. With over a thousand species and a wonderful mountain setting it is an extraordinary act of love by a devoted couple.

Abbiamo scoperto ieri un camellietum a Piegaio Alto. Con oltre mille specie e una meravigliosa cornice di montagna, è uno straordinario atto d’amore da parte di una coppia devota.

We visited Sant’Andrea di Compito’s camelietum yesterday – a stunning collection of over a thousand varieties of this far Eastern plant first introduced to the west in the eighteenth century. The camelietum was started up in 2002 using the micro-climate of a valley of Monte Serra. Over the years it has evolved into one of the finest world collections of a plant which also introduced tea drinking to the west and inspired Dumas the younger’s tale of tragic love – the libretto of Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’.

Ieri al camelietum di Sant’Andrea di Compito: una straordinaria collezione di oltre mille varietà di questa pianta dell’Estremo Oriente, introdotta per la prima volta in Occidente nel XVIII secolo.