The G7 Ministers Are Coming to the City, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

In an inner courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale, the sign at lower left welcomes the delegates to the G7 Minister's conference in Lucca. I'm not sure how I got in the courtyard here but, I just wandered in and nobody challenged me. Granted, it was still two days before the event was scheduled to begin and security procedures were not fully in place yet. Maybe this old man in the hat is known to be harmless after being seen wandering around the city every day for the past month plus.



This view of the Palazzo from Piazza Napoleone is after the member nation's flags had been mounted to the building. In this arcing panorama, somehow the roofline stayed horizontal. I'm not sure how that happened but it is curious.



For the G7 event, Lucca's finest and many other law enforcement departments blanketed the city, closing off many of the streets unless you had a special pass. "Random tourist" was not an approved category for a pass. (And yes, I asked them first before making this image of the willing officers).



Life continued normally in other parts of the city such as Piazza dell' Anfiteatro since it was outside the security exclusion zones.



People came and went through ages-old arches as the foreign ministers planned our collective modern futures.



We decided to get out of town and go elsewhere to find and enjoy the four Tuscan colors: green copper, blue sky, exterior gold, and exterior red.  My next post: Venice.

A Woman with a Straw Hat, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

I especially like it when I just happen upon a moment and place in time that calls out to be photographed. This woman was sitting on a bench on the wall in Lucca reading a book in the warm sunshine with the Church of San Frediano and Palazzo Pfanner in the background.

A different composition.



A potential patron studies the menu board for an outdoor lunch possibility.



This image captures two interesting points. First, the dramatic window frames and shapes that differ with each floor. Second, because most buildings here are hundreds of years old and made of thick concrete/stucco walls, some electrical wires are attached on the outside instead of burrowed or built into the structure. I suspect it makes maintenance easier for the electricians.



I wasn't sure this young man was going to turn away or collide with me - he had that look - but he laughed and turned.



Late afternoon, a reflected patch of sunset light makes this small section of wall glow.  There is a pair of pigeons building a nest under the eave at center - they've turned in for the night to coo.

No Pizza, No Pasta, No Stress, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

That's what the little sign says in the window of Da Ciacco in Piazza Napoleone. It's an unusual statement since nearly EVERYONE in the restaurant business here serves pizza and/or pasta. Notwithstanding the menu absences, we had one of the best lunch and people-watching sessions in the city. It is a bold position for a restaurateur in this city to not offer pizza and/or pasta!



No one seemed disappointed without pizza/pasta.....



.....anyway, pizza/pasta was available at the restaurant next door......



....and also up the street about 50 meters......



....and in all the restaurants over in Piazza dell' Anfiteatro, too. On any given day, it's hard to tell whether the sunny tables or shady tables are going to fill up first.



With a spring chill still sometimes in the air, most folks are seeking the sunny tables - us included.



For hundreds of years, neighborhood folks have come to this fountain in Piazza del Salvatore to fill their water bottles to take home for cooking and drinking. They are still doing it. I have heard anecdotally that some still use the marble tub for a weekly bath but, I'm not sure I believe that. It might have been one of those things to tell a gullible tourist - me.



Here's the spout to fill the tub.



Elsewhere in town, because of the narrow streets, many/most deliveries are completed by men using hand trucks to carry the heavier items from place to place. This was one of the more unusual works of art being rolled through the street. (A fuller version is below).



Over on Via del Fosso, another public fountain stands ready. (And yes, I drink from both fountains and any others I encounter in Lucca. Nothing like bending and turning my head sideways in the warm Tuscan sunshine and having the water run both in my mouth and down the side of my face and neck at the same time).



The wisteria has reached its peak adorning this sun baked wall in Piazza Antelminelli.



Definitely an unusual artwork moving through town.

And a quirky way to end my 2000th published blog post since I began in 2010. Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of readers who have popped in from time to time to join me and share a moment of beauty and wonder in our world.

Shelter from the Storm, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

Usually, getting caught out in the rain without a raincoat or umbrella is annoying to me. Not this time. I ducked under the wall at Porta San Pietro (Saint Peter Gate) for the rain shower to pass and was gifted with beautiful light and these first three image opportunities. Note the 16 foot high metal clad door which, when closed, would keep out invaders.  Of course, historically, Lucca never had to use these walls for armed defense.



Porta San Pietro is the road access through the southern wall into the city of Lucca and was constructed in the 1560's.



For this image, I removed all color and manipulated the depth of field.



Leaving the protection of the gate when the rain stopped, I wandered by a bicycle rental store with a wet inventory. And yes, I cropped the pedestrian's head off purposefully.  I liked it better that way as a hint of mystery and anonymity.

A City of Music, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

Lucca is a city filled with music. Like a moth to a flame, I am drawn to musicians out in the world practicing their art. Francesco, one of the many students at music institutes in the city is practicing on his 12-string guitar on one of the park-like ramparts that are part of the wall that surrounds Lucca. Beautiful sounds in a beautiful place. He seemed a fine young man and I wish him well in his music.



If I could just have gotten this man to carry a red umbrella as he jogged......oh, well, I'll settle for just the red jogging suit instead.



Street photography is often all about timing. In this case, another split second and I would have captured the man's head without the foreground spoke crossing his forehead - so close to a great image.



And speaking of bikes, they are always out on the wall, riding the 2.5 mile perimeter Passeggiata della Mura.



Life always buzzes along in Piazza dell' Anfiteatro both day and night, often with a talented busker providing a background soundtrack.



At the Palazzo Ducale, an administrative building in the city, the workers have been sprucing things up recently in preparation for the international G7 Ministers summit held in Lucca in April.



And from the wall, this wisteria shrouded patio looks like a wonderful place to sit out and watch life roll and stroll by.



Even in Lucca's imperfection there is beauty - the fading colors, peeling paint, and chipped finish speak of a grander time now in decline for this structure. Ah, Lucca.

The Arch on Via del Gallo, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

There is something about an arch that interests me.  Perhaps it's the gravity defying curve of bricks positioned just right, or the shadowed area within, or simply the old world feeling an arch evokes. I often walk by this particular arch when I am out and about and it almost always makes me stop and stare, hoping for a willing subject to pass at just the right time and place and lighting.



I usually don't have to wait too long. We don't seem to do many arches in the United States.



From inside the arch, there is a side passage and Shadowman can be seen in the background reflection as this businessman rides by on his way to an appointment.

Lucca - a city of many arches and many bicycles for people of all ages and walks of life.

A Walk On the Wall, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

I have said before it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. As I was framing this photograph of the spring greening of the trees on the wall around Lucca, this angelic woman in the flowing white dress walked perfectly into the image. Too bad about the orange/brown backpack, though. I never think of angels as needing to wear a backpack.



If you have the skill and balance, you might as well show it off. This man rode on just his back tire for hundreds of yards/meters along this section of wall.

A villa inside the city as seen from atop the wall.



Also inside the wall in the city, the Lucca Language School.



A view to the south looking outside the wall at the surrounding area.



A group of school kids on their way back from a field trip. I see groups of school kids every day in different parts of the city. I don't know if they are from near or far but learning to love Lucca early in life is a good idea.



This view wasn't actually on or near the wall but, it was a spectacular cascade of wisteria in full bloom and so I included it here.

Evening Begins on Via del Decanato, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

As the song lyric says, "it's five o'clock somewhere" - Negroni time for many in Italy. The Negroni, a mixed drink with gin, vermouth, and campari is reputed to have been first created in Florence, Italy. Not for me but many others seem to enjoy it.



The light starts to fade on Via del Decanato, one of the perimeter streets around the Piazza San Michele.



The glow of evening slowly overtakes the gelateria (Sean's favorite) on another side of the Piazza San Michele.



And later, the bicycles are all quiet for another night in magical Lucca. Many are left outside tethered to any available pillar or post - the bicycles not the people.