Miglianello

Miglianello
Miglianello is a little village  immersed in the terraces of olive groves that cover the entire hillside.
The particular layout of the buildingis due to the fact that originally it was an Olivetan Monastery.
In the 18th century, the building was bought by the Papanti family. The complex has maintained the ancient characteristics of the original building; all that is left of the monastery is the olive mill and storerooms.
Inside there is a hall and two rooms with walls papered with prints of a wide variety of bird species: a “History of birds” of 1768 dedicated to grand duke Pietro Leopoldo, and of great interest to natural sciences scholars. Beside the villa there is a gothic-style church which may have been private chapel, built during the last century.

360 View of Lucca from Torre Guinigi

Looking around on the web I found this nice video from BBC!

Its origins may be lost in the mists of time, but this summer pageant with a cast of thousands is still the most important annual event in Pisa.
Armies representing the Mezzogiorno (south of the River Arno) and Tramontana (north of the river) neighbourhoods of the city meet at the Ponte di Mezzo, where the opposing teams demonstrate their physical strength and prowess.
No longer do they bludgeon each other with maces and pointed shields (as they did in days of yore), but instead they take turns to push an immense cart weighing several tons, and they are judged by the force of their efforts. Before the “battle” there is a grand procession along the banks of the Arno with hundreds of participants wearing medieval costume, many of them in the Spanish style of the late 16th-century. Approximately 100,000 turn out for the event each year.

My friend Leslie, sent me this funny video. First time I met her in Villa al Boschiglia, I immediately understood she had an amazing sense of humor so now it’s the right moment to share it with all you!

Tuscany from Daintree Paper on Vimeo.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

For the chick pea soup
350  gm chick peas
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
4 shallots ,thinly sliced
1 carrot, roughly chopped
4 dessertspoons olive oil
A sprig of fresh thyme
A sprig of fresh rosemary
3 fresh sage leaves
2 litres water
salt

For the vegetable tartare
1/2 sick celery
1/2 courgette
1/2 carrot
2 shallots
1/2 red pepper
15 fresh leaves basil
50 ml olive oil
salt and pepper

For decoration
4 basil leaves fried in the little olive oil

Soak the stick chick peas for 12 hours or overnight, rinse and put them in the saucepan with 2 liters of water .

Add the carrot and the  celery and pinch of salt and simmer for 1 and  half hours. While the chick peas are cooking, gently fry the shallot in the little olive oil with the thyme leaves, rosemary  needles and sage leaves.

Drain the cooked chick peas over a bowl keeping the cooking water for later. Add the chick peas to the shallot and herbs, add 3 or 4 ladles of cooking water and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Blend into a smooth cream or “veloute” using a hand-held blender, adding  a little more cooking water if necessary.

To make the vegetable tartare,wash and trim all the vegetables, then cut them into small, similar sized cubes. Place the remaining ingredients- the fresh basil leaves, olive oil and salt and pepper-in a tall jug and blend using a hand-held blender.
Dress the vegetable with the basil oil.

Put a small amount of the vegetable tartare in the middle of each of your serving bowls. Its best to use a small metal ring to help keep the vegetables together and create a neater shape. Pour the chick pea veloute around the vegetable tartare, decorate with the fried basil leaves and serve.

The year -long celebration of the 150th anniversary of Puccins birth is now drawing to a close.

His actual birthday  on 22 december will be celebrate musically  with a concert in the Teatro  del Giglio with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and solo artists.

This has been a remarkable year in Lucca  for Puccini fans, old and new,with the opportunity   to see and hear almost his entire works, including  rarely performed operas such as  Le Villi and Edgar.

However , the Buon Compleanno concert is no so much Saynara as See You  Soon since  this gala event will be fallowed on the first of January  by chamber concert with a hour and a half  of some of his  most celebrate arias as well as music by one of his contemporaries, Emilie Tavan, who composed for silent films. In the afternoon what could be nicer after a Hogmanay party.

The 2008  Puccini Project was orchestrated by a number of bodies not  only to give an overview of his work but to help consolidate and develop the commercial and tourism potential of the maestro for the benefit of the Provincie of Lucca, as  a stepping stone to increasing business for hotels and other tourism-related commerce.

This year hotels and restaurants were given opportunity to buy tickets at 10E so they could offer guests and customers  a special package with significant cultural  highlight. The  aim , also, is to stimulate tourism during the off -season-the New years Day concert is an example of this and intended to be annual event.