Italy, Day 4 - Lucca and Pisa

Our tour coach left at 9:30 to travel to Lucca and Pisa.

Lucca is a city of some 90,000 people in Tuscany. Its long history goes back to Etruscan and Ancient Roman times, and the city retains pieces of Ancient architecture. Lucca's great era was in the Gothic era just before the Renaissance, and the city contains much marvelous architecture from that era. Lucca's current defensive walls were designed by Leonardo Da Vinci and were never breached. Lucca remained an independent city state until the end of the 18th century. Giacomo Puccini, one of italian worldwide known opera composers, was born in Lucca.  The area of most interest to visitors is still enclosed within the old city defensive wall. The top of these broad walls is a ring park, a pleasant place for walking.

There are over 100 Towers in this ancient city.

We stopped at this Bascillica de San Frediano, built in 1112.  

The Church houses the incorruptible body of St. Zita.  She became a housekeeper for a wealthy family and served them for 48 years.  She is well known for her generosity to the poor.  She is the patron saint of housekeepers.  

Church of San Giovanni

This is an original shop door.  The tour guide explained that a shopkeeper might choose to open just one or two panels, rather than the entire door.  Most of these doors have been replaced over the years.

We were set free at the Amphtheatre, built as the center of entertainment.  It's unique elliptical-shaped plaza housed spectacles and gladiator games, often attended by over 10,000 people.  Pieces of the original amphitheater are evident in modern buildings.  Marilyn, Phil, and I wanted to find some rental bikes and ride around the 2.5 miles of city walls.  We stopped to have coffee and cannelloni first. 

Even though we had maps we could not find the entrance to the city and ended up just walking the walls instead of renting bikes.  We enjoyed some great visiting and sharing stories of our families.  We noticed the ancient aqueduct that carried water into the city.  

We were determined to have farro (an ancient grain also called spelt) soup for lunch because Claudia told us it was the most traditional dish for this city.  We asked at two restaurants before we settled in at LaBrusketta.

We were not disappointed, even though we had to settle for vegetable instead of farro soup.

This modern sculpture, comprised of geometric and mathematical shapes, suggests that a person is complicated and not easily measured by one or two pieces....

Our tour manager led us back to our bus, and just a short distance from the amphitheater we saw several bike rental shops.  Marilyn posed for a picture even though we then had not time to ride the bikes.  I studied the map over and over to figure out why we had not been able to find the right exit from the city walls.

Next, on to Pisa!  This stop created lots of memories for our group.....emergency bathroom stops, long walks resulting in sore hips and knees, and a lost wallet.  Paula tripped on the edge of a sidewalk hidden by a scarf.  A nice gentleman helped her up and insisted she meet his daughter.  Paula said, "is she a doctor?"  No, he replied, "she speaks English."  Gratefully, Paula was able to continue, but suffered bruises on her knee and back.

The famous Church, Baptistry, and Tower sit in the Field of Miracles.

We toured the Baptistry first and climbed the stairs...

Marble, marble everywhere!

The tomb of St. Ranierius, the patron saint of Pisa, known for giving up his wealth and ministering to the poor. 

This is what we came to see!!!!!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the piazza's crowning glory.

Although only a third as high as the Washington Monument, it was a miracle of medieval engineering, probably the tallest bell towers in Europe.

With 207 columns ranged around eight stories, Tower of Pisa looks like a massive wedding cake knocked precariously askew by a clumsy giant guest.

The construction of Tower of Pisa began in August 1173 and continued for about 200 years due to the onset of a series of wars. Till today, the name of the architect is a mystery.

The leaning Tower of Pisa was designed as a circular bell tower that would stand 185 feet high. It is constructed of white marble.

The tower has eight stories, including the chamber for the bells. The bottom story consists of 15 marble arches. Each of the next six stories contains 30 arches that surround the tower.

The final story is the bell chamber itself, which has 16 arches. There is a 297 step spiral staircase inside the tower leading to the top.  (We did not attempt the climb).

The top of the leaning tower of Pisa is about 17 feet off the vertical.  The tower is also slightly curved from the attempts by various architects to keep it from leaning more or falling over.

Many ideas have been suggested to straighten the Tower of Pisa, including taking it apart stone by stone and rebuilding it at a different location.

In the 1920s the foundations of the tower were injected with cement grouting that has stabilized the tower to some extent.

Our day ended with a great meal at our hotel, including Tiramisu!  

Italy - Day 2 and 3, Montecatini and Florence

We arrived mid-afternoon to get settled into our home for the next week.   This is the view from our  hotel, Grand Hotel Tettuccio, Montecatini Terme.  The hotel sits in front of the Parco Termale (Thermal Park).  We enjoyed panoramic views of the Tuscan hills from our room.

Montecatini is famous for its thermal facilities and luxurious spas.  Claudia told us there were over 200 hotels welcoming guests from all over the world.  We did a little walking around our hotel, felt safe and made new friends at the Gelato shop close to our hotel.

I loved the image of the bicycle rider covered with evergreens! 

The Monument in the park

Our first taste of gelato

Our welcome dinner with Phil & Marilyn, Butch & Joyce Stark...all from Lewiston

 Our first views of Florence... the famous Bascilia of St. Mary of the Flower.  The Baptistry is currently being renovated (we saw scaffolding surrounding many of the churches and buildings we visited).

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.

The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering thehistoric centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region ofTuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

You can see the Duomo from many places throughout the city

I loved the candles in all the churches we visited...I lit them for all my friends suffering from cancer, hip replacements, and for the unity of our parish!

Palazzo Vecchio[edit]

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany.^[2] Overlooking the square with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy, and it host cultural points and museums.

Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, after the Signoria of Florence, the ruling body of the Republic of Florence, it was also given several other names: Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo dei Priori, and Palazzo Ducale, in accordance with the varying use of the palace during its long history. The building acquired its current name when the Medici duke's residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti.

We did not have time to see the real "David" at the Accademia Gallery, but this statute in the Palazza Vecchio is a replica of Michelangelo's famous work.  

Our tour guide, Claudia II, kept us moving right along, but did let us stop and take pictures of Toni in front of the Ufizzi Museum.

Toni & Friend

The Ponte Vecchio  is a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.  We walked over this bridge later in the evening and noticed the shops filled with lots of bling.

The guides left us on our own for the afternoon so we started off with lunch at the Boccadama, getting energized for some serious shopping for Paula's leather journal.  She asked several shopkeepers where she might find a leather journal, but to no avail.  We finally found one on our own, not a leather shop, but a stationary store.  We decided we'd check out the line for the Uffizi Gallery and gratefully it only took us 10 minutes to get inside, where we were awed by two floors of incredible art work.  We could not take pictures, but apparently Rick Steves can, so I attached his You Tube Video!

We could not take any pictures, but saw collections of Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo DaVinci, and Raphael.

We met up with our tour manager in front of this amazing church at Piazza Santa Croce.  Toni, Cindy, Paula, and I decided to extend our trip in Florence and Claudia told us how to catch the train back to Montecatini.  

This church houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo 

 Incredible view of the main altar

 Need to stand on tip toes to get the holy water from this font.

Galileo's Tomb

After the church tour, we encouraged Toni to buy this lovely leather jacket.

We stopped for some liquid refreshments and joked about our microwave meal!

We then began the trek to the train station and muddled our way through the ticket process, finding the right platform and defending ourselves from the gypsies on the train.  Whew, we did make it back to Montecatini and even had time for more gelato before we headed to the hotel.

A great way to end our first day of touring

Prayer Shawl for Marcia

"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb."  Psalms 139:13

The act of knitting a prayer shawl makes prayers visible stitch by stitch.

My Fourth Day Prayer Group presented a prayer shawl to Marcia last Tuesday.  Marcia's scheduled for two brand new hips today in Seattle.  She'll be away from us for six weeks while she learns how to walk without pain and without limping.  We wanted to let her know we'd be praying for her, for the doctors, the nurses, the therapists and everyone else assigned to her care.  Jackie Ringo knitted the beautiful shawl in the fan and feather pattern.  We prayed and blessed Marcia with holy water.

May this shawl be for her a sign of your healing presence.

May it warm her when she is weary;

May it surround her to ease her suffering;

May it encircle her with caring when she is in pain.

May Marcia feel your gentle, yet strong touch as she

faces the reality of a double hip surgery

Let this shawl be a reminder that her friends will continue

to pray and offer comfort  during this journey.

For several years Marcia joined Regina and me at 6:30 every weekday morning for a walk on the levee.  Last year she started having pain and gradually she had to give up walking with us.  For months now Regina and I gave up our morning walk to have coffee with Marcia on Thursday.  We miss her stories, her spiritual insight, her words of encouragement.   Marcia's not only been my walking partner,  but also a fellow board member, a faithful, yet critical fellow Catholic, and Sunday night wine drinker with another friend, Jean.  I just don't know how I will survive without her - for six long weeks!!!

Marcia, may healing, health and holiness be yours.  May peace, grace, and love surround you and may the awareness of God's presence be a tent over your hospital bed.  I love you, my dear friend.