Lucca Local Customs

Two popular beer brands of Italy are Birra Moretti and Peroni Nastro Azzuro. Bierra Moretti is brewed since more than 100 years in Udine, whereas the Peroni Brewery is located since 1846 in Rome.

Both beers are not too bad, but obviously the local VT members seem to prefer German beer.

Birra Moretti:
http://www.birramoretti.it/

Peroni Nastro Azzuro:
http://www.peroni.it/

Zuppa di Farro is a traditional white bean soup which fed the Roman legions. It is a simple but yummy soup, made with farro which is an ancient wheat grain.

I enjoyed a Zuppa di Farro in the Trattoria da Leo (please read my restaurant tip). Another name for the soup is Minestra di Farro.

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This is a Medieval festival which lasts around three days. The organizers of this event like to recreate the ambiance of Lucca as it could have been some days before the procession of the Volto Santo (Holy Face...see tip about the cathedral) in the Middle Ages. Ante Diem S. C. is planned some days before september 13.

As many Medieval festivals, at Ante Diem S. C. you can enjoy a market, dances, parades, entertainments for children and many other things.

Walking along the side streets of Lucca and you find a few murals on the walls. I spotted this one that honors two sons of Lucca who were both famous operatic composers. Alfredo Catalani (1854 – 1893) who wrote the operas Loreley in 1890 and La Wally in 1892 painted on the right side of the mural with the better known operatic composer Giacomo Puccini (1858 – 1924) whose operas include Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La boheme and Turandot which he did not finish. His arias from some of his operas like "Nessun dorma" and "O mio babbino caro" are sung by many of todays opera singers.

When I was in Lucca I saw lots of locals at some fountains filling bottles to take home.

I asked a woman about this thing. She answered that water from the fountains in Lucca is better than that in houses. She also said it comes from the mountains near the town.

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When we traveled to Lucca by the end of April, we found that from April 24-27, the locals were celebrating the local festivity of Santa Zita who is the patron saint of Lucca.

They told us that every year, on 27th April, in the honour of S.Zita in S. Frediano square there are a lot of flowers and you can find a flower/street market in the Amphitheater. People buy a bunch of flowers along the street and they have it blessed and they keep it in their houses. The wild daffodil is the flower that is usually connected with this saint.

In those days, Piazza dell´Anfiteatro is full of colours because the locals celebrate this festivity with flowers and people from everywhere come here to buy flowers. They also do a Flowers competition between the flower stalls and it is a party for the eyes, not only because the colours but also for the diversity of flowers there.

The locals made also the typical sweets and they go outside to celebrate the party.

Flat land means football/soccer , even if it is next to the famous walled city of Lucca. You can catch a game around most of the walled city. The best part is to look down on the games as you walk on top of the wall. If you are any good at dribbling and passing, maybe even scoring, then ask to join in. The players may just let you get on the field for a few minutes. Of course, I enjoyed watching. Not much action in the old legs anymore.

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The most treasured religious object in Lucca is Volto Santo, which is kept in a shrine at The Cathedral od San Martino. The painted wooden crucifix has a darkened face and is reputed to have been given to Nicodemus by angels, and arrived in Lucca after long and tortuous travels. It is greatly revered, and on the eve of the feast of Santa Croce it is processed from the church of San Frediano back to its resting place at the Cathedral by candlelight. During the preceeding days there are vigils in the Cathedral with much devotion, singing and prayers.
The procession itself has both religious aspects, as there are frequent stops for prayers as well as hymn singing, but also homecoming and reunions as Lucchese scattered around the world return to march with their home parishes.