Category Archives: Festival

Villa Vrindavana

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Italy has sometimes been described as a halfway station between northern Europe and the Indian subcontinent. Certainly, geographically both India and Italy have certain broad features in common. They are both peninsulas. They have large mountain ranges defining their northern borders. A long river runs through an extensive alluvial plain below these mountains. A considerable island lies below their feet and both areas have an extensive range of hills going from North to south. Of course, this is a very superficial comparison. Although both the Alps and the Himalayas were formed around the same epoch, the Western ghats and certainly the Deccan plateau are much older rocks geologically than the Apennines.

More constructive is to compare the main religious culture of the two nations. Roman Catholicism with its multiplicity of saints worshipped in their special shrines and, especially, with its religious processions compares favourably with the pantheon of Hindu gods and particularly with the great festivities of Ratha Yatra, or the chariot festival when the temple divinities are taken out of their sacred abode and paraded through the streets on chariots or palanquins. The purpose of the procession is two-fold: to enable excluded persons to view the deity and to bless the area around the religious centre.

Ratha Yatra refers especially to the annual festival at the temple of Jagannath in Puri, Orissa (Odisha) state, India. Here a public procession with deities Jagannath (an avatar of Vishnu the preserver), Balabhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) carried on giant chariots (ratha) are hauled by hundreds of devotees through the town’s streets. Indeed the chariots are so massive that the name Jagannath has been transmuted by western culture to mean any large HGV!

Jagannath (right), Balabhadra (left), Subhadra (centre)

I have visited Puri but as a non-Hindu was only able to view the temple from the terrace of a nearby public library. I hope, therefore, as an ‘excluded ‘ one to participate one day in the procession.

 

Pulling the chariot is also seen as a metaphor for pulling the God-head into oneself. Indeed there are occasions when worshippers have thrown themselves under the wheels of the chariot and immolated themselves by being crushed. There was a recent incident of this happening reported in the Times of India. It was unfortunately an accident: a chariot-hauler, pulling just behind a wheel slipped, lost his footing, fell down and, in the absence of any brakes on the vehicle, met his maker.

The beach at Puri was fabulous. We rented a house near the sea for a whole month. This was my travel companion on that occasion. I wonder where she is now and what the beach looks like now?

 

Trudi on Puri beach

Today one does not have to venture to India to witness a chariot festival. Thanks to the Indian diaspora and, especially, to Shrila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness who, with just a few books, a bag of cereals and eight dollars, landed in New York in 1965. Within a decade Shrila achieved a widespread following including the likes of George Harrison and, moreover, gathered a great respect among scholars for his exemplary translations of the Puranas and other ancient Sanskrit texts.

Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad

Krishna, Vishnu’s eighth avatar or earthly manifestation, is at the centre of Viareggio’s summer celebration of the Ratha Yatra.

We have enjoyed participating in it on several occasions and have loved the way the festive oriental procession melds in with the Italian religious culture right down to the fine Maremman oxen which pull the chariot.

The oxen, raised on a farm which is part of the Villa Vrindavana, have won several prizes at agricultural shows and it’s lovely to see these animals, once an essential part of Italian country life, back at work again.

Villa Vrindavana, a few kilometres south of Florence in the locality of San Casciano, is a beautiful sixteenth century villa saved from utter neglect by the Hare Krishna community in 1976.

We have been frequent visitors there in the past, especially in the 1980’s when their spiritual leader came across from America. These were truly large gatherings with talks, spiritual exercises and delicious Prasad all held in a giant tent.

That tent has today become a hay store and such heady counter culture activities have quietened down a bit. Instead, there are on offer several interesting courses and sessions on meditation, yoga, herbal medicine and the study of the great Hindu texts. More details can be had on Villa Vrindavana’s web site.

The name Vrindavana comes, of course, from the great religious centre south of Delhi, associated with the childhood of Lord Krishna. Here ISKON have started building the tallest Hindu temple ever, a veritable skyscraper…I prefer to reach for the skies in more modest ways. In particular, in delving through and restoration of my old photos I have come across these of a village religious gathering in Himachal Pradesh I attended in the 1970’s. Instead of being transported on giant chariots or housed within lofty shikaras the God is carried on a palanquin where he (or she) is consulted on important subjects like when will it rain again.

With regard to important subjects I just wish I could have such firm answers regarding who the next POTUS will be….

One thing is sure: Krishna and Christ have more than their similar sound in common: they are both sons of God as they were divinely conceived. Their coming on Earth were both foretold in the relative scriptures. They were both born in humble places, one in a prison cell, the other in a stable. Christ is seen as a shepherd, Krishna as a cowherd. And….most importantly both emphasised love for one another and peace in the world.

(San Cassiano’s big triennial Holy Cross religious procession in 2017)

 

A Concert in the Sky

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One of the greatest losses, not only for the Lucchesia but for the whole musical world, as a result of the horrible pandemic, which is showing no end and no mercy, is the death in March of Maestro Luigi Roni. Born in the Serchio Valley’s village of Vergemoli in 1942, Roni first studied the bassoon in Lucca before changing to singing. He made his debut aged 22 at the Spoleto festival playing the part of Mephistopheles in Gounod’s opera ‘Faust’.

Roni sang with such greats as Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, Plàcido Domingo and José Carreras at La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera and New York’s Metropolitan. One of the bass singer’s last performances was in April, 2019 when he sang the part of Simone in Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’ at Genoa’s Carlo Felice theatre.

Equally sad is the fact that Roni’s wife died shortly before him – another victim of the deadly virus. But, having left each other for a short while they are together again. Love can be that strong sometimes.

Roni retained a special affection for the valley in which he was born and in 2002 founded the ‘Serchio delle Muse’ festival with the aim of bringing great musical performances to the remotest villages of his beloved ‘Valle del Serchio’.

We have always looked forwards with eagerness to this remarkable summer festival. The venues chosen for it are often remote and unknown to most people but not less beautiful for that. Town piazzas, forgotten churches and ancient palaces have all featured in the festival’s performances. One particular venue, however, literally tops it all for me. This is the concert regularly given at the Rifugio Rossi by the slopes of that mother of Apuan mountains, the Pania Della Croce.

To get to the venue is a couple of hour’s walk up footpath no 17 which leads to the extensive alpine-like meadows below the rocky Pania. The way is quite magical. The first part of it snakes through dense woodland before thinning into a birch forest and then freeing itself in the glorious uplands of the Pania massif.

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The singers and the instrumentalists all have to take the same path and clearly must be reasonably fit to tackle the rocky way. There is no helicopter service laid on except, perhaps, for the piano (though not for the pianist!).

Arriving at paradisiacal heights we spread ourselves out above the rifugio and waited for the performers to assemble.

In 2007 it was a soprano recital accompanied by a band of brass and introduced by the inimitable Debora Pioli.

Before us extended the vastest of landscapes. To the right rose the path which led to the summit of that most majestic of Apuan mountains, the Pania della Croce and to the right the lower, but no less magnificent summit of the Pania Secca (dry Pania not only because of its extremely rocky contours but because water in limestone country tends to hide itself undergound.) At our feet the valley of the Turrite found a way through the crags and the air was of the most wonderful purity.

Among the audience Maestro Luigi Roni can be recognized with his lordly grey beard and his considerable presence. It seems so unreal that he is no longer with us. Although aged sixty-five at the time of my photo Roni was as sprightly as ever and in excellent health. He had to be to get up to our heights!

The concert in such a heavenly setting was glorious. The young soprano had more than enough breath in her after climbing to the natural amphitheatre we lay in to make a fine show of the medley of operatic arias and traditional songs and her dulcet tones stood out brilliantly against the excellent accompaniment of the brass ensemble.

As the music faded out towards its close so the sunset enfolded the audience in its golden colours  and the mystery of an Apuan night descended upon us.

Everything must pass. This is life’s tough lesson which has to be re-learnt time and time again because we never quite believe it. For who knows where the time goes? That is the eternally unanswered question. All I know is that we have been privileged to be member of the audience at the concerts Maestro Roni has organised as part of his ‘Serchio delle Muse’ summer festival. Majestic cathedrals and the remotest of mountain chapels, town squares and village greens have all echoed to some of the most inspiring music thanks to his  efforts.

Together with his friends and admirers I take my hat off to this great man of our valley of the Serchio. Departed from this earthly life he lives on in our memory of the most exquisite music. We must be ever thankful that that we are fortunate enough to have enjoyed the generous patronage of true gentlemen like Maestro Luigi Roni.

Happiness is a Carnival Game

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Carnivals are in full swing in Italy at this time of year and bridge the gap between Christmas and Easter festivities. If you follow my blog you’ll know that I’ve written several times about this fabulous event when children and adults join together and have fun dressing up, participating in fantastic floats and, hopefully, winning the prizes for the best display. As many of you will know the word ‘Carnevale’ means ‘farewell to meat’ for the festivity is a final fling before the forty days of Lenten fasting. In the UK, pancake day (next Tuesday 25th February) is celebrated here as Martedì Grasso (mardi gras) or ‘fat Tuesday’ – the day before Ash Wednesday.

Here are just a few posts I’ve talked about ‘Il Carnevale’ in:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/its-carnival-time-again/

https://longoio3.com/2019/03/06/over-the-moon-at-fornolis-carnival/

https://longoio3.com/2018/02/14/fabulous-fun-at-fornolis-carnival/

https://longoio3.com/2018/02/02/bagni-di-luccas-three-carnival-venues/

https://longoio3.com/2018/01/29/its-carnival-time-in-viareggio/

https://longoio3.com/2019/02/17/enter-the-spirit-of-il-carnevale-at-bagni-di-lucca/

https://longoio3.com/2018/02/22/loads-of-bread-and-confetti-at-bdls-casino/

https://longoio3.com/2018/02/15/korea-in-lucca-and-lucca-in-korea/

https://longoio3.com/2018/01/30/viareggios-bubbleman/

Viareggio holds the biggest and best carnival in our part of the world. However, there are many minor carnivals held in local villages. On Sunday, for example, we attended Valdottavo’s ‘Carnevale’. The floats were brilliantly imaginative for such a small place and fun was truly had by all, especially the children of course!

 

(Photos courtesy of Alexandra Cipriani)

All these local carnivals are free and have an intimacy which the Viareggio event, although stupendous, doesn’t quite have.

This Sunday, starting at 2 pm, Fornoli will have its very own special carnival. Organised by Marco Nicoli’s wizardry and the local Mammalucco association its theme will be the Olympic Games. I wonder what the floats will reveal. As usual it’s going to be really difficult to decide on the winner and, as a member of the jury, it’s going to be a tough choice for me!

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Be there if you can! The weather will be fine too….

 

Una Miriade di Adorazioni

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Come metropoli internazionale Londra può non solo offrire ogni tipo di cucina, non solo ogni varietà di spettacolo ma, come si riflette nel suo aspetto multiculturale, ogni specie di esperienza religiosa.

Questa domenica passata, per esempio ho partecipato al rito anglicano Cristiano nella squisita chiesa di Saint Lawrence, Whitchurch.

Di origine mediovale, come si vede nella sua torre,

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la chiesa fu ristrutturata da James Brydges, duca di Chandos, in pieno stile barocco nel 1714.

Gli affreschi di Laguerre, il dosalle, le statue dipinte in grisaille, l’elegante soffitto demi-arcato sono veramente decorazioni rare in un Inghilterra abituata a ornamenti più sobri per le sue chiese.

La gloria suprema della Chiesa di Saint Lawrence è che qui, dal 1717 al 1720, fu direttore musicale il sommo compositore George Frederick Handel, come si vede in questa lapide.

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Tra le sue composizioni per il duca sono gli undici Chandos Anthems che rimangono tra i miei preferiti brani musicali.

La Chiesa anglicana ha un rito che, in molte maniere, riflette l’ordinario della Chiesa Cattolica Romana, con solo queste differenze principali:

1. L’autorità del Papa non è più stata ammessa, dal cinqecento.
2. L’Eucaristia non considera la transustanziazione del corpo e del sangue di Cristo nel pane e nel vino ma solo il simbolo della sua presenza.

Tutto il resto rimane simile: il segno della pace, la benedizione, il colpire del petto nell’atto della confessione. Infatti, la comunione si riceve non in fila ma attorno alla balaustrata, come accadeva un tempo in Italia.

Ritornando dallo sobrio rito anglicano mi sono trovato nella folla che stava festeggiando la grande festa in onore del Dio indù Shiva. La Ratha (carro) Yatra (pellegrinaggio), la festa del carro, si celebra ovunque nel mondo indù e tutte le fedi sono invitate a partecipare poiché, sebbene ci siano molti modi per adorare la divinità che ci ha creati, Dio rimane sempre uno, immutabile, eterno e pieno di amore per noi.

Ricordiamo che fu proprio un Italiano, Odorico di Pordenone, a riportarci per la prima volta una descrizione di questa suggestiva festa nel 1321, una festa che ora si è diffusa in tutto il mondo (ricordiamo quella di Viareggio).

Ratha Yatra si riferisce in particolare alla grande festa nella quale partecipai molti anni fa a Puri in Orissa, India dove un gigantesco carro trasporta le divinità di Jagannath (avataro di Vishnu), Balabhadra (suo fratello) e Subbadra (la sorella).

A Londra la più grande sfilata è stata a Hyde Park ma io l’ho goduta nel strade periferiche di Wembley. Il contrasto tra le tipiche casette bifamiliare londinesi con i celebranti, per la più parte del tempio Tamil di Shiva, era molto pittoresco.

Le sari strabilianti delle donne, l’orchestra di tamburi e shenai, le offerte ai dei di frutta e noce di cocco mi hanno trasportato a quei posti così cari a noi di Kerala e Tamilnadu, l’ultimo visitato solo nel 2017.

Che straordinario vivere in un paese dove a fianco l’uno e l’altro si trova moschea, tempio, chiesa, sinagoga e tabernacolo in piena armonia. A Londra questo rimane ancora possibile. Intanto in luoghi come la Siria, il medio Oriente, lo Yemen…….perché!!!!!

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(Moschea, tempio e chiesa, una dopo l’altra in un paese dove la tolleranza rimane ancora una virtù).

Borgo is ‘My Flower’

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Every April Borgo a Mozzano hosts a lovely flower festival.  On even numbered years it’s the azalea festival and on odd numbered years it’s the ‘my flower festival.’ Although the latter is on a smaller scale than the azalea festival it’s still a very lively and enjoyable event.

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The flower show is also a way of publicising the various towns and villages which make up the comune of Borgo a Mozzano. Here are some of the displays which I liked most, especially those with models of the villages they represented:

Here is Bagni di Lucca’s contribution:

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The forestry department had a poignant display, complete with model water bomber, reminding us of the terrible fire which raged for several days on our hills last month (see https://longoio3.com/2019/04/03/our-forests-on-fire/):

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Local schools had displays illustrating games from by-gone times:

Borgo’s symbol is, of course, the magnificent bridge spanning the Serchio river and built by order of the countess Matilda in the eleventh century.  Here it is represented with flowers:

Here is a selection of further displays. Note the Japanese cherry blossom garden, the real cat among the bunnies, the old agricultural items, the modern technology used in making necci (chestnut pancakes) and much else.

In addition to the street displays there were also art and photographic exhibitions.

The phenomenon of David Bonaventuri and his brilliant photography is on display in its all-defying virtuosity at Borgo a Mozzano’s Library until the 28th of April. The show is titled ‘Beyond Pain’, a reference to the fact that David had to have his left leg amputated in 2012 as a result of a work accident – absolutely not his fault – when a tree  fell on it. This has in no way limited David’s activities as a photographer and explorer of our area. In fact, at 5 pm on April 27th, at the Circolo dei Forestieri, a book on ancient rock engravings in our mountains in which he participated is being presented at the Sala Rosa of Bagni di Lucca’s circolo dei forestieri.

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Meanwhile, here is a taster of the photography exhibition and its opening  ceremony (forgive the inevitable glass reflections).

It’s a real pity that the weather on Saturday wasn’t of the best. Sunday was much worst, however, with dismal downpours most of the day. I was, therefore, glad to visit when I did.

If you want to compare this year’s festival with that of the ones we have visited in previous years you can click on any of my previous posts regarding the event:

https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/legging-it-in-leghorn/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/blooming-azaleas/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/astounding-azaleas-are-arriving/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/05/21/my-flower-is-at-borgo-a-mozzano/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/04/17/another-fabulous-borgo-azalea-festival/

https://longoio3.com/2018/04/15/borgo-blooms-again-for-its-azalea-festival/

 

 

A Lovely Visit to Lucca’s Green Walls Garden Festival

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Last Saturday was a perfect day to enjoy Lucca’s Verdemura garden festival. It’s now in its twelfth year and is bigger and better than ever before. I was glad I went on that day as Sunday had rather somewhat dull and drizzly weather.

The hippie axiom ‘make love not war’ is singularly appropriate when dealing with Verdemura as the show is laid on the top of Lucca’s classic defensive walls, now over five hundred years old. Where there were cannons there is, instead, an encampment full of flowers and colour.

Lucca’s walls are the second major example in Europe of walls built according to the principles of modern fortification, taking firepower into consideration,  that have been preserved completely intact in a city. They are two and a half miles long and took from 1504  to  1648 to build. There are eleven bastions or bulwarks. (The walls of Nicosia, Cyprus, hold the record with a length of  three miles, also with eleven bulwarks).

 

The walls were designed as a deterrent and were never taken in anger. They did prove useful, however, when the Serchio flooded and their new ruler, Elisa Bonaparte had to be hoisted over them from a boat. Even today, after heavy rainfall the area encircling the walls tends to be flooded and a temporary moat is created.

The garden festival is centered around the Porta Santa Maria and extends to two bulwarks, Santa Croce and San Donato.

Here is a selection of photos I took of this year’s brilliant show. Were you there?

 

 

It’s Green Walls Time for Lucca Again!

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Lucca’s walls are special because they provide a beautiful tree-lined walk on their wide expanses. As poet D’Annunzio wrote Lucca is:

‘La città dall’arborato cerchio’, (‘the city of the tree-lined circle’.)

Twice a year the walls become even greener because of the garden festivals they host. In Spring the festival is held on the northern part of the walls and is called ‘Verdemura’.

 

The festival started yesterday, Friday, and will continue until this Sunday, 7th April. I visiting it today and I’ve been told it’s bigger and better than ever before.

There are more than 200 Italian and foreign exhibitors: from garden centres thousands of different  horticultural species, shrubs, bulbs, tools and garden furniture for both flower and vegetable gardens, handicraft products and excellent food, all in the wonderful setting of the walls of Lucca.

In addition, there are talks and demonstration on all aspects of gardening.

Opening time is 9.30am  to 7 pm.

Weather-wise it should keep fine. After two days of storms bringing much-needed rain to a parched earth things should be really sprouting out now.

I’ve written several posts on Lucca’s garden festivals. Here are some of them if you want to read further and see more photographs.

Lucca’s Green Walls

Green Fingers on Green Walls

Incidentally, I don’t have to go to Lucca to see staggeringly lovely flowers. At a friend’s house in Lucca I came across these green-fingered specimens:

 

PS Lucca’s walls are the ones to go for….not the Mexican variety!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Over the Moon at Fornoli’s Carnival

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I’m old enough to remember the first moon landing fifty years ago. In case you don’t remember, it was US Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin who landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969 and it was Armstrong who was the first person to step onto the lunar surface, pronouncing that immortal line “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.

Many things rushed through my mind at that time as I gazed at the moon. I’d thought of the ‘Lunar landing’ sequence in the classic BBC radio series ‘Journey into Space’ and a line from Keats’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’:  It seemed to me that the moon was no longer that ‘unravished bride of quietness’ but now another part of the universe, ready to be despoiled and polluted by man.

Now the Moon is back in the headlines with that extravagant person, Elon Musk, and his company ‘SpaceX’. Have you booked your ticket yet for the first private passenger spaceship he plans to fly around the Moon? Don’t be left behind!

The teachers of our local schools and their classes had great fun in thinking about ideas and themes for this year’s  Fornoli Carnival, the seventh so far. Just look at these snaphots I took of the event which took place in warm winter sunshine.

 

 

All schools were winners in their own imaginative way but, naturally, there was a first prize (Euro 250) and it went to the combined primary schools of Bagni di Lucca Villa and Scesta (Scesta’s school is being rebuilt so the two have been temporarily amalgamated).

Carnivals are wonderful ways of integrating communities, giving children one of the best times in their annual school calendars, enlivening educational themes and promoting friendly rivalry between different areas of our comune. I wish carnivals could spread more widely in the UK, too.

None of Fornoli’s great fun event would have been possible had it not been for the indefatigable efforts of Marco Nicoli and the Mammalucco association he is principal founder of. Seven years ago Fornoli’s carnival was revived and it has grown from strength to strength. Long may the carnival tradition continue at Fornoli and bring a smile, some colour and truly needed joy in these ‘tempi difficili’.

 

 

 

Two Thanksgivings!

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This Sunday 11th November at Fornoli there’s the traditional Thanksgiving Day.

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Among the events there will be

  • A parade of tractors.
  • Chestnuts and other chestnut-derived goodies together with mulled wine on Saturday and Sunday afternoon prepared by the Alpini.
  • A folk song group
  • Craft and food stalls
  • Work produced by local school children
  • Chainsaw sculptures
  • At 12.30 at the Lanternina restaurant a production of ‘The Devil’s bridge’ by the Teatrino Del Serchio company.
  • At 4 pm the tractors procession will be repeated. At 5 pm the works exhibited in primary school will be awarded and there will be dances accompanied by popular music.

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Incidentally Thanksgiving Day has been recognized as a national event since 1951 and takes place between the 11th November (St Martin’s day) and 17 January (St Anthony Abbot’s day, patron of shepherds and farmers.)

PS Don’t forget, especially if you come from the other side of the pond American Thanksgiving at Alla Cantina di Carignano with Chef Paolo Monti on Thursday 22 November starting with an aperitif at 12.30  (Full menu in your November copy of ‘Grapevine’ magazine.

To reserve: 333 8617962 or editor@luccagrapevine.com

 

For more pictures of previous thanksgiving events in Fornoli plus videos of traditional folk groups and dances do see my posts at:

Thanksgiving for Tractors

Harvest Festival Fornoli Style

Nuts About Chestnuts

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In Italy school classes started on September 17th after their very long summer break of over three months. Of course, those students who have failed their exams will have spent much of their summer revising their subjects and for teachers there’s a lot of preparation time involved, so it’s not all sunshine, beaches and ice-cream for many.

The ‘feste’, however, continue and now that today is the autumn equinox the ‘sagre’ (or food festivals) concentrating on local produce are ready to launch.

‘Castagnate’, or chestnut festivals, abound in this Apennine part of Italy. Their main features are products made from the flour of the chestnut tree, or Castanea sativa (not to be confused with the somewhat inedible Horse chestnut prevalent in the UK, well-known to any schoolchild who has enjoyed playing ‘conkers’.

Actually, horse chestnut or Aesculus hippocastanum has its useful medicinal purposes in treating such ailments as varicose veins, haemorrhoids, enlarged prostate and diarrhoea. If eaten raw however it’s a useful way of doing someone in as it contains a poison called esculin. This was a particularly popular procedure in mediaeval times.

No such problems with the Castanea sativa, however. Some of its very edible products are:

  • Chestnut jam. (Crema di Marroni). Absolutely delicious. I like it spread on crumpets.
  • Chestnut flour pancakes, usually rolled up and filled with ricotta cheese, Nutella and , in some areas, pancetta (a type of bacon).
  • Chestnut honey.
  • Bomboneccio. A sort of chestnut cake made with chestnut flour, pine kernels, fennel and raisins.
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  • Pane casereccio. Chestnut flour bread.
  • Mondine. Roast chestnuts

It’s fascinating to visit the Castagnate festivals just to watch these products being made. Every area has its own particular recipe and names. For example, our ‘Castanaccio’ is called ‘Migliaccio’ in Florence.

What is remarkable is that chestnut-derived products were scorned at by the immediate post-war generation since they were associated with poverty and famine – indeed were called ‘food for the poor’. Now, of course, these items have regained their full worth as wholesome and tasty items rather like polenta. I wonder which ‘poor man’s food’ have become fashionable again in the UK? Faggots, tripe, offal, chitterlings, oats? Do let me know please. It could be useful after March 29th next year.

The main Castagnate festivals in our area are the following:

Item Date Place Features
1 October 7, 12.30 Camporgiano Polenta festival
2 October 7, 15.00 Metello, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana Local products
3 October 8, 14.00 Cascio, Molazzana Local products, food trail
4 October 14, 14.30 Trassilico Local foods and products
5 October 14, 14.30 Castiglione and Trassilico Local foods and products
6 October 21, 12.00 Pieve Fosciana Local foods and products
7 October 28, 12.00 Pontecosi lakeside Local foods and products
8 November 11, 11.00 Lupinaia, Fosciandora Stalls, old trades, local products

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Two useful web sites to explore are at

http://www.sagretoscane.com/

And

http://www.eventiesagre.it/cerca/Eventi/Sagre/Ottobre/Toscana/

Here you can research into what kind of food festival you are looking for, where it is and when you want to visit it.

What about chestnutty things happening in Bagni di Lucca?

Last year there was a castagnata but to date I have found not indication of one for this year. Maybe later on?

The following events, not necessarily to do with chestnuts, are on the menu, however.

  • 22-3 September. All day. The fabulous paese dei balocchi or Toyland for children of all ages, inspired by Carlo Collodi’s immortal book about a famous puppet’s unpredictably elongating nose.

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  • 28 September. 9 pm. Il Volo della farfalla, theatrical evening in memory of a young actor, Stefano Girolami.
  • 29 September. Patron saint feast with procession at Granaiola.
  • 30 September. Bagni di Lucca’s second-hand street market and attic sale.

Further afield there is the big castagnata at Marradi which takes place every Sunday in October.

There will be plenty more happening, of course. The main task, however, is to enjoy this extraordinarily warm autumn before the weather changes and we huddle around a wood fire.