The shipped stopped in Livorno which is in the Tuscany region. Three years ago we did a “Walking Tour in Tuscany” and fell in love with the area. Part of the reason is that we had an excellent guide who we now consider a good friend. When we came to Rome before the cruise started, Luciano came from his home and gave us a tour of local sights. On the cruise we were not allowed to leave the ship in Italy except on an Oceania sponsored tour. In conversations with Luciano we found a way for him to lead a private tour for Oceania. That made our day really special.
If you should ever need a guide in Tuscany or other parts of Italy, Luciano is the best. In the picture he is on the left and our driver David is on the right.
About 4 million people live in Tuscany. Florence was and probably is the most important city in Tuscany. It was the home of the Medici who were very influential in trade and commerce. Today there are 70 museums in Florence. Pisa and Lucca are two other major towns in Tuscany. At one point they did not get along and both towns built watch towers that provided early warning of invasion.
The four of us had been to see the tower in Pisa so we opted to bypass it and go to Lucca. Lucca is a walled city. The wall are 30 feet thick. Today, the 4.2 km wall is a popular running, biking, and walking trail. About 90,000 people live within the walls of Lucca. It was drizzling and overcast during our visit. We saw several bicyclists riding and carrying an umbrella.
In spite of the weather it was still a good visit as we wandered around.
Here are some pictures from Lucca.
Lucca is a city of churches. There are 9 churches referenced in the Wikipedia article. Plus, there are some former churches that have been deconsecrated where masses are no longer sent.
Below is the Cathedral of Saint Martin. "He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter.” (from the Wikipedia article). The reason he only gave him half of his cloak was because Rome owned it.
One of the other churches (below) is the Church of Michael the Archangel. On the right is the statue of Michael at the top of the church.
Lucca is the home of Giacomo Puccini. He is most famous for his operas including Tosca and Madam Butterfly. Below is a statue of Puccini in front of the Puccini Museum. Every year there is a Puccini festival in Lucca.
We stopped on this street and had coffee and pastry. The make great coffee and baked goods in Italy.
Caroline and Maureen couldn’t resist dancing and singing in the rain.
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Our next stop was Lajatico, the town where Andrea Bocelli grew up. Luciano knows Bocelli’s sister and called her to make sure we could eat in the family restaurant. Unfortunately, she was unavailable to greet us and give us a wine tasing of the Bocelli wines. But, we had a fun time looking at the Bocelli memorabilia and ate a great lunch with Luciano and David.
On the left is the entrance into the restaurant. On the left is one side of the room with memorabilia. The other wall had large pictures Bocelli with many famous people.
After lunch we went to the outdoor venue where Bocelli has a yearly concert. People fly in from all over the world to go this concert. The theater is call Teatro del Silenzio (Theater of Silence). The name perhaps comes from the fact that the theater is silent except for the annual Bocelli concert. The acoustics are reported to be excellent. The setting is certainly excellent. Caroline and Luciano saw the white spots (second photo) and thought they were sheep until they flew in to the air.
Our final stop was in Volterra, a city since the 8th century CE with a city wall built in the 12th century. On the left is the main square. On the right a picture of city.
Our visit was short because it was getting dark. As we were getting ready to leave we were treated to a beautiful Tuscan sunset.
Our drive back to the port was about an hour long. After a while we talked Luciano into singing for us. He sang Volare (we joined on the chorus), You Are My Sunshine, and more. It was a great end to a great day. Huge thanks for Luciano for making the day special. He is the best!