How did you spend your Christmas?

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Francis

Christmas Eve promised fine weather for the important date to follow:

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And, indeed, Christmas morning opened with gently warm rays of sunshine which continued throughout the day. No bleak mid-winter here!

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I’d accepted an invitation for Christmas lunch in Lucca.

First I made sure my cats got their festal breakfast. Carlotta seemed particularly pleased.

I then made my way to Bagni di Lucca’s railway station. Happily, in Italy most trains still run on time, even on December 25^th!

The Serchio River below the Ponte Della Maddalena (I don’t like to call it ‘il Ponte Del Diavolo’) still shows how little rainfall we’ve had this autumn, despite the recent rainy days.

It was lovely to be in Lucca and the Christmas lunch prepared by my hostess was wonderfully traditional and included turkey, sprouts, roast potatoes and yorkshire pudding. We couldn’t find any cranberry sauce in the city but the American apple butter made an excellent replacement!

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We were also joined by four sweet mutts – my hostess was dog-sitting for two of them.

Dessert was my hostess’s cheesecake and my Madeira, which I’d baked at home that morning.

We pulled our Christmas crackers, read their characteristically lousy jokes (e. g. ‘Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers? In case he got a hole in one!!!’), wore our paper crowns and exchanged presents (which included chocolates, biscuits and a beautiful little crystal angel).

I could not have wished for more excellent company and more delicious fayre. For an afternoon I felt there was a corner of Italian Lucca that had become a lovely old-style English Christmas…

A Castle, a Castagnata and a Countess

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Francis

The chestnut festival season is in full swing in our part of the world. I’d written a post listing all the main ones within easy reach of Bagni di Lucca at https://longoio3.com/2018/09/21/nuts-about-chestnuts/ .

We went to the castagnata at Lucchio last weekend. Quite a small affair it was delightfully intimate and the setting of the hill-town, which seems to hold onto the precipitous slope for dear life, was spectacular.

We first visited the rocca, or castle, which acted as the last defence post of the republic of Lucca for several centuries. It must have been massively impregnable at its height, enough to frighten away any enemy whether Florentine or Pistoian and even today, in its ruinous state, it presents an impressive picture. The views from the castle are to die for: one can see the whole length of the Lima valley and beyond with such mountains as the Balzo Nero and Monte Giovo.

For the castagnata, the castle was newly assaulted, this time, however, by a merry group of young people who were having great fun with a somewhat noisy drone.

We weaved our way through the precipitous streets to reach the village’s parish church of San Pietro, a sweet building largely reconstructed in the late nineteenth century.

Here the main event was taking place. We treated ourselves to necci con ricotta (chestnut pancake filled with cottage cheese) and a glass of vin brulée which was definitely needed now that the evenings are becoming ever chillier.

In the adjoining church hall there was an interesting exhibition which included a slide show on different types of mills.

There was an example of a necci toaster.

The chestnut pancakes are cooked between heated stones in a pile – most ingenious..

It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon in convivial company and a good excuse to visit a village which, despite the difficulties of living there, still retains forty permanent inhabitants and in summer is filled with emigrants (largely to France) returning to their ancestral roots.

On the way out I glanced up at the mansion, perched on a hill at the entrance to the village, which was once Lady Anna Harley’s, Countess of Oxford, summer residence and dates from the 1840’s. The ‘Villa San Giorgio’ is now in a ruinous state, abandoned by its subsequent owners, but there are plans for restoring it.

I have managed to find out the following about Lady Harley. She was born in 1803, the fifth child of Jane Harley, Countess of Oxford, who became Lord Byron’s mistress in 1811. Lady Anne Harley married Signor Giovanni Battista Rabitti, Count of Saint George and thus was titled ‘Contessa Anna Harley Rabitti di San Giorgio’. Her husband died in 1845 leaving the countess with three children.

This gelatine photograph shows Anne Harley together with them. I estimate it must date from the 1860s. But is it really a photograph from life or a photograph of a lost painting?

Anne published a ‘Catalogo Poliglotto delle Piante’ in 1870. It’s a glossary of plant names with their equivalent name in several, mainly European, languages.

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Do note the dedication to George Bentham by the author. George Bentham, CMG FRS FLS (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884), was an English botanist, described by botanist Duane Isely as “the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century”. He was also a distinguished researcher at Kew gardens; the dedication to him by the countess just shows what important academic links she maintained. I wonder if that amazing botanic artist who travelled the world and whose pictures are collected in a custom-built gallery at Kew, Marianne North, knew both George Bentham and Anne Harley?

As the introduction states:

“Lady Anne Harley has spent many years in the compilation of this volume, which, we think, may prove useful to travellers on the Continent, and indeed, might even be made the means of instruction in our public schools. As an example, we select the Bellis perennis, which, a native of Europe, we find is, in English Daisy; French, Paquerette, Marguerite vivace, Fleur de Pâques; Italian, Pratolina, Margheritina de Prati; Spanish, Maya, la Margarita; German, Masslieben Gänse Blümchen, Angerblume, Osterblümchen. But we find not only the European names of a large number of plants given, but even in some instances, the Sanskrit, Bengal, Hind and Tamul names are also appended.”

Here is a entry dealing with dandelions from the volume. I’m grateful to my friend Marco Barsanti for sending me a link to download it.

2639. leontodon officinalis vide Taraxa- cum dens Leonis. — Eng. Dandelion common. —
Fr. Dent de Léon. — Ital. Dente di Leone. Radicchio.
Capo di frate. Soffione. Stella gialla. — Esp.
Amargon. Taraxacon.
2640. leontopodiuin alpinum ^ Eur.
Sibir. syn. L. vulgare. — Eng. Lions’, foot alpine. — Fr. Pied de Lion des Alpes. — Ital. Piede di Leone alpino. — Esp. Pie de Leon, alpino. — D.
G. All. Lòwenfuss, alpen.

Clearly the countess fell in love with the Lima valley and its villages and, as a naturalist, contributed significantly to the classification and collection of flora and fauna in this part of Tuscany. She must have been a very enterprising woman to come to these parts especially in an age when women were supposed to lead subservient and conventional lives. Anne died in 1874 and I just wish I could find out more about this remarkable person.

One of the people we met in Lucchio was Daniela (or Danièle) who lives in Paris and comes to Lucchio for her holidays. She is very knowledgeable about the village and we gathered this story about ‘Mariona’s doughnut’ from her.

At that time, the countess Anna’s beautiful villa, like other houses in the village, had no running water. People would go to the “Old Fountain” to get water and wash their clothes.

The countess brought with her as helpmate a young girl called Marie, who was nick-named Mariona.

One day, the girl brought a recipe for a cake that her mother was preparing for her to bring to the countess. Lady Harvey called this cake “Mariona’s doughnut”.

This is Mariona’s doughnut recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

– 500 g of flour

– 400 g of sugar (300 g are sufficient)

– 4 eggs

– 50 g of melted butter

– 1 packet of brewer’s yeast or 1 of dried yeast

– a pinch of salt

– 2 glasses of milk

– 1 small glass of cognac

– 1 glass of anise liqueur (pebble or other)

– Italian baking powder like ‘Pane degli Angel’.

PREPARATION:

In a container, mix the flour with sugar, yeast and a pinch of salt. (If you use brewer’s yeast melt it in some milk or water)

Add the egg yolks (keep the egg whites) then gradually pour in the milk, melted butter, cognac and aniseed liqueur, stirring well to avoid the formation of lumps.

Finally add the egg whites, stirring in gently.

If you use brewer’s yeast, let the dough rest for 1 or 2 hours in a cool place.

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C

Place the mixture in a mould from 23 to 26 cm, wide (preferably with a hole in the centre) and bake for about 45 minutes.

Allow it to cool before removing it from the mould.

Enjoy at tea-time or as a dessert.

PS As I still have to get the cognac I haven’t tried this recipe yet. Anyone who does is welcome to send me a photo of their efforts and I shall be glad to publish it in my blog.

PS If you haven’t been to a castagnata yet you’re still in time for the one at Barga from the 2nd to the 4th November.

Fishing for Compliments at Marina di Pisa

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Francis

We have known Marina di Pisa for a long time. During our summer holidays we would take the train with our cycles on board to Pisa Centrale station and then pedal the 13-odd kilometres to Marina di Pisa. Age has increased our affection for this place, redolent of history and inspiration, which, after some terrible years of decadence and neglect (like several English seaside resorts I know) is being revalued for the amiable resort it is.

One of Italy’s greatest poets, Gabriele D’Annunzio, wrote his finest poetry here, collected in ‘Alcyone’. My post at https://longoio.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/superman-or-satanist/ describes this astounding person and includes my translation of his beautiful poem on the rain falling on the pine forests that form the background to Marina di Pisa.

D’Annunzio had an overwhelming love for Marina di Pisa. Equally in love with the town and its coastline were Eleonora Duse (who spent her holidays with D’Annunzio here in a villa by the sea), another great poet, Dino Campana, Sergei Rachmaninov, the painter Giuseppe Viviani and the nuclear physicist Bruno Pontecorvo .

At that time, wild dunes of grey and brackish sand joined the pine forest. Then in the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century disaster struck. Poor management and corruption increased erosion to the extent that, like a sea vampire, waves eventually devoured the lovely sandy beach, today largely replaced by pebbles deposited on the sea front to avoid further destruction.

(Marina di Pisa’s beach as it used to be)

Furthermore, the railway which used to run between Pisa and Marina di Pisa (it continued to Tirrenia and Livorno) was closed down in 1960.

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Marina’s railway station is still there…

However, all is not lost. Thanks to a 6.5 million euro funding from the region, province and the municipality, work is underway to restore the formerly sandy beach. It’s a sophisticated project and undersea barriers will be used to prevent the sea from consuming the once-praised beach yet again.

Marina di Pisa’s sandy beach restoration project is part of its revitalization as is the new marina at the ‘Bocca D’Arno’ (mouth of the river Arno).

This new marina has, however, caused some distress among those persons used to a more traditional town. With affection I remember the delightful times I spent with friends at the ‘retoni’ (big nets) fishing for whitebait. We used to have marvellous fry-ups and watch the sun go down on the Tyrhennian Sea by the Arno. To see those happy times read my post at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/a-big-network-at-marina-di-pisa/

Houses and churches which were once neglected are now being restored and there are some spectacular examples of fin-de-siècle architecture equal to anything in Viareggio.

There are several excellent sea-food restaurants and if many of them are now closed at the end of the sea-bathing season there is one that always seems to be open: the ‘Pescotto’. We enjoyed an excellent fritto-misto there:

Afterwards we took a walk around the resort.

Returning home we couldn’t resist taking another look at that miraculous church marking the spot where Saint Peter landed to proselytise Italy and eventually be martyred, crucified upside down in Rome.

I have written extensively about this exquisite building at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/saint-peters-landing-place-in-italy/

and

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/a-more-interesting-way-of-getting-to-pisa-airport/

For those of you familiar with the beautiful Italian language I cannot resist including a poem on Marina di Pisa by Gabriele D’Annunzio:

O Marina di Pisa, quando folgora
il solleone!
Le lodolette cantan su le pratora
di San Rossore
e le cicale cantano su i platani
d’Arno a tenzone.

Come l’Estate porta l’oro in bocca,
l’Arno porta il silenzio alla sua foce.
Tutto il mattino per la dolce landa
quinci è un cantare e quindi altro cantare;
tace l’acqua tra l’una e l’altra voce.

E l’Estate or si china da una banda
or dall’altra si piega ad ascoltare.
È lento il fiume, il naviglio è veloce.
La riva è pura come una ghirlanda.
Tu ridi tuttavia co’ raggi in bocca,
come l’Estate a me, come l’Estate!
Sopra di noi sono le vele bianche
sopra di noi le vele immacolate.
Il vento che le tocca
tocca anche le tue pàlpebre un po’ stanche,
tocca anche le tue vene delicate;
e un divino sopor ti persuade,
fresco ne’ cigli tuoi come rugiade
in erbe all’albeggiare.
S’inazzurra il tuo sangue come il mare.
L’anima tua di pace s’inghirlanda.
L’Arno porta il silenzio alla sua foce
come l’Estate porta l’oro in bocca.
Stormi d’augelli varcano la foce,
poi tutte l’ali bagnano nel mare!
Ogni passato mal nell’oblìo cade.
S’estingue ogni desìo vano e feroce.
Quel che ieri mi nocque, or non mi nuoce;
quello che mi toccò, più non mi tocca.
È paga nel mio cuore ogni dimanda,
come l’acqua tra l’una e l’altra voce.
Così discendo al mare;
così veleggio. E per la dolce landa
quinci è un cantare e quindi altro cantare.
Le lodolette cantan su le pratora
di San Rossore
e le cicale cantano su i platani
d’Arno a tenzone.

(Gabriele D’Annunzio, “La Tenzone” da Alcyone – Marina di Pisa 5 luglio 1899)

Nuts About Chestnuts

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Francis

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.
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 29^th 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

CastagnataCascio

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.

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.

In for a ‘Penny’, in for a Pound?

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Francis

With the wonderful trade opportunities which will open out for the UK after the end of March next year I thought I’d investigate how deeply the British market had penetrated that most elusive of Italian retail sectors: the discount store.

I chose our local ‘Penny Market’ at Borgo and scoured its shelves yesterday. Heading for that other essential item when having a cuppa, the biscuit, I found the digestive biscuit. Penny has had an imitation, manufactured in Italy, for some time.

Now, however, it has the real McCoy!

I think I will start having ‘can you tell the difference between Mcvities and……’ tea parties. After all, a sensitive palate does often link up with a sensitive personality. A good way to distinguish true friends? OK, so you couldn’t tell the difference … don’t look around for another invite then!

Of course, one could always drown one’s sorrows. There’s a choice between two brands of mother’s ruin, one of which is manufactured in Italia under license and the other which, reputedly, is distilled in the Great Wen.

Of course, no gin is complete without its traditional complement:

I do know local friends who like to mix the stuff with pineapple or other fruit juice, however.

The water of life is distilled north of Hadrian’s wall and I await a really freezing winter’s evening to allow myself a tipple of this tincture.

Naturally, if you go to ‘higher class’ (but not necessarily higher quality) supermarkets you’ll find HP sauce (but only the barbecue variety) which has abandoned Brexitain and is now manufactured in the Netherlands (how low….), Heinz baked beans, Lea and Perrins (still matured in Worcestershire) and several other items.

However, unless one enters the few speciality English shops in our area (like the one in Viareggio), it’s going to be difficult to find items like Wensleydale, Cheddar Stilton or, indeed, any other fabulous English cheese. Scrumpy drinkers will just have to go dry …… to say nothing of tea-cake or ginger-nut devourers.

Now all this is happening while the UK is in one and the world’s largest market. So what are the prospects after the next April fool’s day I wonder?

There may be excellent markets for digestive biscuits in South Africa, perhaps, and a G n T will be essential at sundown but….

Just realized I missed out on that classic snack, the Kit-Kat (now owned by a Swiss company) which I also spotted in ‘Penny’.

Perhaps, dear feeder, you might be able to fill me in on other great British exports, at least as far as food is concerned, on Italian discount supermarket shelves?

Do let me know. Thanks!

PS Prices are in Euro but there’s not too much difference now with sterling thanks to the UK’s glorious chancellor of the exchequer.

Ibiza Comes to Fornoli

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Francis

‘Es Vedrà’ is the name of a magical island off Ibiza. It is the reputed haunt of mermaids and naiads and also, in more recent times, the landing ground for UFOs.

‘Es Vedrà’ is now the name given to a new pizzeria at the end of Fornoli at the junction of the road leading to Calavorno.

Opened last week by a young couple, one the daughter of ‘La Ruota’, also in Fornoli, the location, in fact, had a previous incarnation as a pizzeria and one we frequently used to go to as a friendly rendezvous, That was quite some time back and for several years the place was closed.

(Photo courtesy of Emmanuela Ambrogi)

‘Es Vedrà’ is now a completely revamped place and the old-fashioned but dated cosiness of the former pizzeria has been transformed into something more up to date and almost minimalist.

I visited ‘Es Vedrà’ on the day of its evening opening but was unable to stay for the official opening ceremony. I am quite sure the pizzas will be up to the high standard of the former establishment and look forwards to tasting my first ‘quattro stagioni’ there soon.

Incidentally, why the name ‘Es Vedrà’? It’s because the owners, Stefania Rocchiccioli e Alessandro Fede, spent some time working in Ibiza in catering and fell in love with the place.

Bagni di Lucca may not quite have the night life of Ibiza but let’s hope that the enterprising young couple will liven things up in Fornoli with their new venture. I, for one, wish them the best of luck.

Address: Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, 94, 55022 Bagni di Lucca LU

Hours: Opens at 6 pm

Telephone: 339 491 9880

Le Ostriche di Whitstable

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Francis

Situata sulla costiera nord della contea di Kent, Whitstable è un ridente centro le cui fondazioni risalgono all’era romana. Cresciuto da un villaggio di pescatori è poi diventato una meta per le scampagnate dei Londinesi che la raggiungevano per vaporetto lungo l’estuario del Tamigi.

Ci siamo stati per la prima volta nel 1983 e poi nel 1985.

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Ultimamente eravamo li nel 1998.

Ora, dopo un periodo di decadenza nelle sorti della cittadina, quando gli inglesi l’abbandonarono per le vacanze attorno il Mediterraneo, Whitstable è ritornata di moda ed è frequentatissima – affatto com’era quando siamo prima stati lì molti anni fa’. Questo cambiamento si riflette nel prezzo delle case e nell’offerta più vasta dei negozi. (Speranza per Bagni di Lucca?)

Il mare di Whitstable non è per niente profondo ed è idoneo per la raccolta di crostacei, ostriche e vongole. Il porto fu ideato da Thomas Telford, il grande ingeniere del secolo diciannovesimo che ispirò Nottolini, l’architetto del ponte delle catene a Fornoli. Attorno il porto ci sono le caratteristiche capanne dei pescatori, un mercato del pesce e dei gustosi ristoranti ittici.

Sebbene non abbia edifici di altissimo interesse storico, Whitstable contiene un suggestivo insieme di caratteristiche case ‘clapperboard’, cioè rivestite di assicelle di legno e degli edifici dell’era Giorgiana che ne fanno della sua high Street un attraente insieme pieno di varietà.

La spiaggia non è un gran che, composta dalla più parte di ciottoli. Ha, però, la sua atmosfera nordica con il miagolare dei gabbiani e le famiglie che vanno in cerca di granchi. Ho notato pochi nuotatori….

La galleria d’arte merita una visita.

Come lo merita anche il museo, che contiene un’antica locomotiva a vapore del 1830, Invicta, costruita da Stephenson figlio, e che operò nel primo servizio regolare di treni per passeggeri sulla linea conducente a Canterbury.

Come consueto, abbiamo concluso la nostra giornata a Whitstable in un pub. Ci è particolarmente piaciuto questo di epoca vittoriana. Evidentemente il landlord era appassionato di vecchie radio….

Ciao Whitstable e….alla prossima!

Anni passati,

il volo dei gabbiani:

maree nel tempo.

All Dressed Up With Everywhere to Go

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Francis

There is so much happening in Lucchesia’s summer that it’s difficult to keep up with it all. Not only that, it’s often difficult to find the information until someone tells you ‘wow that was a fab show I went to at blabla’

So what can you to do to keep up with the immense plethora of events in our part of the world?

Take a picture of every poster you find advertising an event.
Visit Bagni di Lucca’s helpful tourist office at regular intervals.
Google for events in the area.
Chat to people about what’s happening.
Decide what you’re really interested in.

There are three main categories of events

Foody ones – sagre, feste etc.
Arty ones – concerts, theatre, shows, palii etc.
Sporty ones – marathons, swimming pools, car rallies etc.

Because the weather is still so lovely, not too brazenly hot and often with a gentle zephyr, there is no excuse for sitting at home meditating on what to do. The world, or at least, the Lucchesia is your oyster! (Which reminds me go to Marina di Pisa for some great ones – oysters I mean!)

Here’s a start….I have already decided on the reopening of Bagni di Lucca swimming pool after extensive refurbishing and the concerts at Villa Bonvisi.

I have also decided to publish all the events I can find in our area on an ongoing way in my facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/fpettitt

This is to avoid clogging up my blog with too many posts.

‘I poveri infatti li avete sempre con voi’ (San Matteo)

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Francis

Non vorrei certo dipingere sempre un attraente ritratto di Londra. Come nel tempo di Dickens esiste incessantemente molta povertà – infatti – più povertà che mai e la disuguaglianza tra i ricchi e i poveri diventa sempre più vasta. Adesso, per esempio, più di diecimila persone, dette ‘rough sleepers’, dormono sui marciapiedi di Londra, il triplo di tre anni fa!

(Mie foto)

Allo stesso tempo aumentano sempre le proprietà vuote a Londra. Circa 20,000 appartamenti e case non sono occupati perché l’affitto, o il prezzo d’acquisto, è troppo alto e anche perché, in Inghilterra si compra una casa principalmente per investimento. In Italia, invece, i prezzi delle case sono diminuiti di almeno il 10%. Guarda Bagni di Lucca, dove scappano via gli inglesi vendendo le loro case a prezzi 30% di meno di quelli dell’acquisto!

Che fare? L’indifferenza è certo l’atteggiamento più vergognoso. Se vedo una persona col solito affisso ‘I’m hungry’ (‘ho fame’) non do mai soldi (che poi forse potrebbero essere usati nell’acquisto di droghe o alcool) ma un panino o una bottiglia di acqua.

Il fatto è che quando ero piccolo non si vedeva cosi palesemente questa immensa disuguaglianza di redditi. Dopo una guerra nella quale l’Inghilterra e le sue città furono sottoposte al bombardamento nazista più lungo, continuo e assiduo di qualsiasi altro paese, è sorto uno stato sociale col National Health service (servizio nazionale di sanità), con case popolari costruite per affitti ragionevoli a tutti, con un sistema di trasporto dove, anche senza macchina, si poteva viaggiare facilmente in tutte le parti più distanti del Regno Unito e, dove il livello d’istruzione era fondato sul merito dell’allievo e non sulla ricchezza della sua famiglia.

A quei tempi si credeva proprio in una società dove nessuno mancava di cure mediche, di un tetto sopra il capo, di un’istruzione di qualità, di lavoro per tutti…

Ora, con questo famigerato brexit, il Regno Unito rischia di vendersi sempre di più al lurido mondo di lucro: più lavoratori si troveranno con contratti a zero ore e, sicuramente, i senza-tetto, che trovano qualche spazio accanto ad un portone di un grande magazzino o un sottopassaggio pedonale, aumenteranno esponenzialmente.

E’ ovvio, con la sempre più spaventosa differenza tra i ricchi e i poveri, che ci saranno sempre più allarmanti abissi tra le schierate politiche non soltanto in Gran Bretagna, non soltanto in Europa ma in tutto il mondo.

Chi ci salverà, mi domando? Non certo i marziani… o no?

Vite perdute?

Le masse ammucchiate

su marciapiedi.

Toll-Free Super-road to Florence from Lucca Plus a Great Eating Place

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Francis

Clearly the quickest way to motor from Bagni di Lucca to Florence is to drive to Marlia and then catch the autostrada at Altopascio. However, there is a much more interesting way to get to Florence, free of autostrada tolls, with a fine place to eat en-route and with a journey time not much longer.

This route is to reach Altopascio but not to take the autostrada from thence. Instead, follow the signs to Empoli and when nearing Empoli watch out for the FI-PI-LI superstrada signs. The sign clearly alludes to Firenze, Pisa and Livorno and when you get onto the superstrada you just follow the direction for Florence and exit practically at the entrance to the wonderful Viale dei Colli. Within minutes you are admiring this classic view of the Lily city.

From Altopascio the route crosses some of the most beautiful parts of the Val D’Arno. The first section takes one through the Cerbaie which are quite similar to the heathlands of the North Downs near Guildford in the UK. In fact, both are geologically of the same structure. Le Cerbaie is, however, the morainic uplands deposited at the end of the ice-age glaciers which once covered Tuscany and formed the Arno valley. You’ll know when you enter the Cerbaie since beautiful woodland spreads along much of it. Here is the protected natural area of Montefalcone which rises west of the Fucecchio Lake (great for bird-watching) and reaches up to 500 feet in height.

At some stage in the journey there’s a sign to Galleno. Take it to reach a typical Tuscan trattoria since the main road by-passes Galleno.

In Galleno, noted more for its hunters than for any historical masterpieces, there’s the ‘Gola di Bacco’, a trattoria with a great atmosphere.

What’s on offer? First the host Fernando and his wife, whose welcoming is truly heart-warming.

Then, but only if you understand Italian since there’s no written menu and certainly no prices mentioned, Fernando will offer you a list of items including ‘selvaggina’, which is locally hunted wild-life.

We opted for maltagliate (in our area known as maccheroni) with sauces made of venison and wild boar.

Sandra’s mum took the wild mushroom soup:

This was followed by a variety of meats including bistecca (beef steak) and pheasant.

At this stage we were more than replete so we asked for our doggy bags which lasted us well into the next day when we returned home.

While one misses the great artistic cities of Pistoia and Prato which one can get to on the autostrada there are still plenty of amazing sights (some of which we‘ve described in previous posts) including Empoli, San Miniato del Tedesco (birthplace of the classic filmmakers Taviani brothers, one of whom, Vittorio, has sadly died recently), Vinci (birthplace of Leonardo) and the great Caruso’s villa.

You can follow these places up in my posts at:

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/make-it-an-interesting-journey-from-bdl-to-florence/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2014/10/09/the-biggest-wetland-in-italy/

https://longoio2.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/the-greatest-of-all-singers-his-villa/