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An hour from Lucca, by a slow train following the river out into the country. Robert and Norma live high on a ridge in a villa in a village confusingly called La Villa. So high that in the morning it is above the clouds. Over a decade ago Norma bought the abandoned shell of an old house. In the course of a couple years of inspired “grand designs” activity it was transformed into their very romantic home. For us, Lucca is presently home away from home, so La Villa has become home away from home away from home. Waking to breakfast outdoors on the terrace out above the clouds. The mountains across the valley look something like a sound of music film setting. In La Villa there are two churches but no shops. The two churches compete to define Garfagnana standard time by striking the hour about three minutes apart..

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Dining al Pozzo

Lovely meal at Il Pozzo di Giordano e Maurizio in Garfagnana. For starters, creamy lasagne made with crepes, rather than pasta. Followed by rabbit roulade balanced with sweet & sour veg. The handsome building hosts weddings and receptions. Through part of WWII it was the headquarters of the German army in this part of the world. Toward the end of the war the Gothic Line, the German last line of defence, ran from coast to coast of Italy through this area, with the Germans billeted in the local farmhouses. In a hard-fought bloody battle near the little town of Sommecolina on the snowy boxing day of 1944, they managed to hold the line for a few months more against the advancing Americans. The steep densely forested country would have been difficult enough even without the snow.

Following comments in a recent blog on my version of Tiramisu, I have been asked to divulge the recipe. Which I am happy to do herewith. You must understand that good food is an art rather than a science. Quality of ingredients is vastly more important than finely measured quantities which are totally unimportant and not discussed here.

Separate the eggs which have been carefully chosen from happy hens. Mix raw sugar with the yolks to achieve a stiff paste that doesn’t sag. Make a brew of coffee so strong that the plunger only goes half way down. Quality of coffee your choice – don’t skimp. Set aside to cool. Choose firm Marscapone with no runny bits. Gently mix Stanton & Killeen liqueur muscat with the Marscapone to achieve a consistency vaguely like that of the egg yolk sugar mix. Add a couple of pinches of cream of tartar to the egg whites and whip to stiff little peaks. Blend the Yolk/sugar mix with the marscapone/liquor mix, then gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Slice tiramisu biscuits into thin slices. Don’t even think about trying to make tiramisu biscuits. Fortify the coffee with the remains of the Stanton & Killeen.  From the crystal cabinet bring Grandma’s crystal trifle bowl and set up a production line. Alternating layers of the custardy stuff with biscuits quickly dipped in the soused coffee. Quality control is important, so periodically check the taste of the coffee and the custard. Dust the top of the confection with ground dark chocolate of the finest quality. Refrigerate for a couple of hours then serve. This is our little secret so don’t under any circumstances pass it on. Warning – it can be a bit addictive. You may be forgiven for thinking that the same result might be achieved by shoving all of the ingredients in a bowl and savaging it with a whizzy stick. Try this if you must, but expect slops from hell rather than food from above.

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The Barga Cathedral is a formidable piece of Romanesque stonework. Cathedrals like Siena and even Pisa overawe with feelings that if we are good little children we will be rewarded with a place in an absolutely beautiful heaven. Barga is more a warning of what might happen if we do not behave.

Yet another piece of stonework is the Ponte della Maddelena in Borgo a Mozzano. Also known as the Devils bridge, it was made at a long forgotten time and supported by forces much more powerful than mere Physics. Its elegant line was more recently brutalised to allow the train line to pass to Aulla.

Castelnuovo Market

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is a nearby village that has shops, cafes, and restaurants as well as churches. Thursday mornings there is a village market that takes over the town, spreading through a half dozen piazzas and open spaces. The fare and ware appeals to the people of the region. Not targeted at tourists at all. Clothing, tools, fruit and veg, pot plants for window boxes, a couple of fancy knife stalls.

Martin is an expat artist who has lived here for many years. His studio along the main street is open on market day so we can meet him and chat. Chair art is his medium and he has achieved a world-wide following. He refuses to evaluate or compare his chairs. He says that they are all individual and have to speak for themselves. Chairs of other artists are also on show. They can be either super human or sub human in scale and are not really intended for sitting, more for looking. They can be finely crafted furniture or cobbled together with bits of string, cardboard and fencing wire. Our host, Robert, has made a reliably D.I.Y. ‘Bob the Builder’ chair composed of plumbing fittings, wood and warning signs. A piece of fork art is also displayed which is evocative of Michelangelo. Would have been nice to take home the wistful Charlie chair, but settled for a couple of  chair posters.

Back in Lucca, enjoying a jolly time fraternising with the students from the Language school before catching the train down to Venice.