Weekend in… Florence and Lucca Immerse yourself in the bounty and beauty of the Tuscan landscape
Where to start with Italy’s stunning landscapes? Perhaps by focusing on a region and its food festivals – in this case, the area in and around two of the most-loved cities in Tuscany
The non-stop celebrations of Tuscan produce in autumn range from September’s homage to mushrooms and wild boar with polenta in the wine region of Carmignano, to widespread feasts of figs, honey and white truffles. October brings renewed festivities, in honour of the new season’s olive oils, wines and chestnuts..
Hills of Florence
The medieval municipality of Vaglia, is home to the feast of the blackberry as well as Villa Demidoff, one of the most atmospheric gardens around Florence. Part of its romance lies in the sense of what might have been: a Medicean park of novelties and amusements was swept away for an English-style landscape garden. Remnants include the Colossus of the Apennines sitting atop a grotto. The park, which is also a nature reserve, is free of charge. Nearby, on the 12-mile Anello del Rinascimento (Renaissance Ring Trail), is the Villa
di Bivigliano, a former hunting lodge of the Renaissance era.
With a formidable cypress avenue and uninterrupted views over the surrounding wooded hills, thousands of extra trees were added to the park in the 19th century, including sequoias.
Pampering and penance
A step up from the luxury of an agriturismo, le Colline del Paradiso is an agri resort and spa, set in a giant, 16th-century furnace near Bivigliano, built for the ruling Medici family. The resort’s organic farm and hunting reserve inspire much of the seasonal menu. The hilly Mugello region to the northeast of Florence is characterised by native forests, and coppiced chestnut is a feature of the woodland around the convent of
Looking at Lucca
Fifty miles east towards the Tyrrhenian Sea, the inner core of Lucca is surrounded by a pristine, fortified wall. Planted with trees, it makes a good promenade over the city. Much is packed within the old city boundary, including the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, layered with medieval and later additions, to form an elliptical piazza (Piazza dell’Amfiteatro). At Piazza San Francesco, a highly regarded farmers’ market convenes every Wednesday, between 4pm and 7.30pm. The food is local, organic or biodynamic. Across the square, Ristorante il Mecenate takes the local food experience a step further, serving up regional produce with expertise. Backing on to the city walls, the old botanical garden (Orto Botanico di Lucca) presides over
four acres; the baroque gardens of
Palazzo Pfanner could be your base, with apartments to rent.
On the road of wine and oil
Clusters of producers can be found on the so-called Wine and Oil Road (Strada del Vino e dell’Olio), an excellent way to discover the region through food and drink, and this could be combined with historic villa-visiting. Villa Reale di Marlia has a spectacular array of gardens, including a theatre of yew built in the mid-17th century and the Lemon Garden, which appears in watercolours and oil paintings by John Singer Sargent. Villa Torrigiani is classic baroque, and Villa Mansi, a pink palace of the Renaissance, is nearby. Towards the mountains north of Lucca, a 45-minute drive will take you to the hilltop town of Barga and its antique market, held on the second weekend of every month. Back in town, Lucca hosts two annual flower shows: Murabilia, in September, and VerdeMura in April.