This part of the journey is all about planes, trains, and automobiles as we move around between Tuscany and Umbria. First stop is Lucca arriving first in Pisa from Dublin and then a short train ride to Lucca. Then, on to Panacale and Pisa. But Lucca first.
Lucca
Lucca is in Tuscany, less than an hour via train from Pisa. We are spending 4 days in Lucca. We are here to attend the annual concert of Maestro Andrea Boccelli at his venue, Teatro Silenzia, located in the hills of Lujitano, about a 90-minute drive from Lucca. The entire experience is a whirlwind tour of the local area organized by Great Italian Touring Company. However, the highlight is the concert, which is why we signed up for this tour. There are only 22 of us and we represent Australia, Canada, the EU, Great Britain, the US, South Africa, and South America. We have a local tour guide and a small, dedicated coach to take us from one event to the next. It is a really fun group, mostly retired or close to that stage of life with a variety of career backgrounds and life experiences.
On our journey here in Lucca, we visited Lusitano, the hometown of Andrea and his family (he lives in a villa overlooking the sea), ate at his restaurant, visited the museum, took in a wine tasting in his cellars and had a mini tour of his family vineyards. Both days were all things Bocelli, with amazing food and delicious wine. The history of the Bocelli family is very interesting. They started out as farmers. Andrea’s grandfather invented a way to incorporate the combustible engine into farm equipment, making farming more efficient and less taxing. This invention was a tremendous success. They then got into growing vines and eventually produced wine, some of which we will bring home with us! The philosophical thread that runs through all things Bocelli is social responsibility. The Andrea Bocelli Foundation has brought opportunities to more than 900,000 children around the world, introducing them to the possibilities of a better world. Their efforts in the vineyard are focused on responsibility for the environment. The musical production at Teatro Silenzio includes guest singers, known and new; a choir made up of students of operation music and expressive dancers who have a disadvantaged past, including serving time in prison, and given the opportunity by Bocelli to lead productive lives. His entire story is really moving. We learned he is a deeply religious man who believes he has been given a great gift and has a responsibility to give back to the world in which he lives. He has done an amazing job of sharing his many blessings with others. I am a huge fan.
Enough of Bocelli, the man. The crown jewel was the concert event. It is a mixture of Who’s Who is Italian society along with locals and visitors from around the world. They come together once a year to hear Bocelli fill the hills of Tuscany with his music. The remaining 364 days, the theater is quiet (hence, Teatro Silenzio) to show respect for the environment. But once a year, 12,000 lucky humans attend the concert. Even if you are not a fan of this type of music, his voice is so powerful, so filled with emotion that you cannot help but feel its beauty in the depths of your soul. You will be moved to wonderment and awe at the beauty of his voice. We were. We splurged and bought a ticket for seats just 10 rows back from the stage. Wow! That is all I can say. The production was amazing, with huge colorful robots on pedestals reaching the midnight sky. Beautiful costumes, amazing aerobatics by dancers as light as fairies and expressive dancers who are miracles of flexibility and beauty. I can only describe the entire experience as magical. Its memory will stay with me for as long as my mind is still functioning.
We also spent an afternoon visiting the town of Lucca and enjoying a delicious dinner. Lucca is a very cool Tuscan town with a city wall that is 100% intact and a venue for a jog or a nice evening stroll. The town also has a cool history. I would say it is worth visiting, should you find yourself in the Tuscan region. It is less crowded than some more well-known small Tuscan towns, equally as cool and a short distance to Florence, Sienna, or Cinque Terra. If you visit Lucca, be sure to give yourself a day to visit the town of Lujitana, the home of all things Bocelli. One last note, we did not have a bad meal or an average glass of wine in 4 days, and it was an excellent value on top of it all. But unless you are part of a tour (as we were), you will need a car here. Public transport isn’t great, although there is a good rail system in place to get you from Pisa to Lucca.
Pisa
Pisa is more than the Leaning Tower, although 2 full days in Pisa is enough to see all the major sites; the Tower, Cathedral, Baptistery, Monumental Graveyard, main square and some of the iconic Italian streets off the main square, where you will find the hidden gems where locals eat and shop.
The Leaning Tower is the free-standing bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral, which I did not know prior to our visit. It stands about 185 feet high and is a beautiful building, all white marble against a blue sky. It is most famous for its lean due to its unstable foundation. On our tour, we learned all about why it leans, that it was almost closed forever and how it was saved with an ingenious method of repairing “the lean,” which was at a 15-foot lean and is now at about a 12-foot lean. We climbed the many, many steps up 185 feet to the top of the Tower. All the steps were narrow, slippery, and tricky to navigate. Once to the top, the effort was worth it. The view of Pisa is incredibly beautiful, as is the breeze on a 97F day!
The Baptistery was founded in the 1100’s and is an architectural beauty. The vault of the baptistery consists of a double dome, with the inner dome being cone shaped and the outer one, hemispherical. This construction gives the baptistery exceptional acoustics, making it a monumental musical instrument! Every 30 minutes, the attendant on duty gives visitors a demonstration simply by chanting a few notes and letting the amazing reverberation of the majestic cylinder of the Baptistery do the rest. Between the beauty of the architecture and the amazing acoustics, a visit to the Baptistery is time well spent.
The Monumental Graveyard is a building that dates to the 13th century. It is made of marble, spans about 500 feet in length and is most famous for its gorgeous frescoes. Unfortunately, the building was mistakenly bombed during WWII (the Allied Forces, given false intelligence, operated under the assumption that the Germans had stowed away in the building and bombed it accordingly). Huge parts of the frescoes were destroyed when the building was bombed. However, a major initiative is underway to restore the frescoes.
We found 3 restaurants off the main piazza that were delicious, with great service. One of the restaurants was 99% Italian speaking but with the help of Google Translate, we successfully navigated the menu, ordering and paying. At this restaurant, we had a funny experience. Jim ordered pasta with ragù sauce. When it came to be time to order his wine, the choice he made was shut down by our waiter. No, No! for-a thees-a one-a, vino rosso! We got a good laugh and used that line more than once in our subsequent travels.
The first place we had dinner was LaPergoletta. It was just beautiful inside and located on a tiny alleyway that you can only reach by foot. It was quiet, elegant, and intimate. The food was gorgeous and we had some fine, Italian wine. We finished the night with gelato and a stroll to walk off some of the amazing calories we just consumed.
Lunch the next day took place at Locanda Pisani All’uscio. As you can tell just from the name of the joint, it is imperative to be armed with your Google Translate and let the old-school waiter choose your wine. Jim ordered the pork ragu & pasta with a Rose wine. The immediate response from the waiter was, “No-a! For-a dese-a one-a, Vino Rosso! Lol. I had the steak salad (excellent, please order it rare) with a lovely white Italian wine, and Jim had the pasta/pork ragú with RED WINE! Ha!
Dinner our final night in Pisa was pizza, where the locals eat pizza, Aria Pizza Ad Libitum. Again, a little small place off the main piazza, and best reached on foot. We enjoyed a nice salad followed by 2 pizzas. They flash fry the dough in an electric fryer and then cook the pizza in a wood-burning oven. The result was an extra crispy crust with the delightful taste gained only from a wood-burning oven. Fresh tomatoes, cheese, and local sausage finished the pie, which we consumed with the relish of true pizza lovers. We shared some gelato and then proceeded to roll ourselves back to our hotel.
When you are in Pisa, hire yourself a tour guide and take a 2- or 3-hour walking tour visiting all the main sites mentioned above. Trip Advisor offers a good, affordable option with a maximum of 8 in the group. We enjoyed a wonderful tour guide, Valeria, who was born and raised in Pisa. She is a schoolteacher who moonlights as a tour guide, so she is truly knowledgeable without being overwhelming and she has a wonderful sense of humor. Once done, settle into a front row seat at one of the many cafes in the main piazza and prepare for some great people watching. Enjoy an expressó, take some more fun photos and people watch before returning to the hotel for a pre-dinner siesta.
Our 2 days stay in Pisa was just enough. It is a great city with all the amenities or a city. You can get to Pisa via ItaliaRail from several other Italian cities and it is very affordable and safe. Once in Pisa, be prepared to walk – a lot. Taxis are expensive. There is a city tram system which is very affordable, very extensive, and very confusing. So, we chose to walk and take taxis. Our one experience with the tram system did not end well.
Anyway, Pisa is a lovely city, and we are happy we visited Pisa. However, with all the wonderful places still left to visit in Italy, it is probably a “one and done” for us but again, glad we did it.
Panicale (Umbria)
Now, off to Panicale in Umbria which we will get to via automobile. It is my humble opinion that the Italian people are lovely and welcoming people who grow the best food and produce the best wine in the world. However, also in my humble opinion, they are the most crazy-ass drivers on the planet. They have no sense of personal road space, they have no regard for speed limits and drive with the same passion with which they approach life; flailing hands, rapid fire speech and gesturing that can only be described as X-rated. Where Ireland has no rules of the road, Italy just has no rules. Period. Thankfully, we are driving just 2-1/2 hours before reaching Panicale.
Have you ever witnessed a Vespa speeding around a crowded round-about in a small town who all of the sudden slows down ever so slightly, whistles loudly to a dog on the street and seen the dog race across traffic and sail through the air, landing squarely in the lap of the Vespa driver? I have. May I introduce you to the Italian driver? Thankfully, Jim did not try that trick with me.
In Panicale we are staying at this amazing 5-star hotel, Rastrello. This hotel is owned by a woman who has a biologique olive grove, producing some of the best olive oil I have ever tasted. I met her through the Parkinson’s Foundation. She is a dear friend of one of our past Board members. She donated a 2-night stay at Rastrello to one of our fundraisers. Jim and I won the 2-night stay, so we decided to take advantage of the win during our 2026 European adventure. Wow. What an absolute dream this place is.
Panicale is a small town in Umbria. There is not much to do here except wine tasting, walking, visiting the local shops or taking a cooking class at Rastrello. You need a car to visit neighboring towns in Umbria (and there are plenty to visit!) The wonderful thing about Umbria is it is the less expensive, less touristy version of Tuscany. Sure, Montepulciano is great. So is San Gimignano. But they are overrun by tourists and packed with wine store after wine store, shop after shop and everything is more expensive than in Umbria. So, if you prefer a less traveled area with equal quality wine, food, and quaint, quiet little towns, do yourself a favor and stay in Umbria. You can always take day trips to Tuscany, but only if you must. All the small Umbrian towns have first rate wineries to visit without the exorbitant prices, and all have a main piazza with 2 or 3 restaurants serving authentic Italian cuisine. In Panicale, for example, there are 2 Michelin-listed restaurants with A-mazing food.
We had dinner on our first night at the Rastrello grounds. We sat outside with a beautiful view of the mountains and Lake Trasimeno (the 4th largest lake in Italy). Rastrello is located on a hilltop and so the view was spectacular and we enjoyed a lovely breeze. The temperatures have been stifling in Europe this summer, so the breeze was key to a comfortable evening outside.
Our 2nd night in Panicale, we ate at Il Gallo nel Pozzo one of the 2 Michelin-listed restaurants in town. It is only open for dinner and is multi-generational family owned. Mom & Dad passed along the gauntlet to their son who has nobly continued the tradition of fine dining. The son will personally take your order, serve your food, and ensure you enjoy every minute of the experience while mom & dad walk around visiting with the locals or watering the flowers. If you are lucky, the son’s little 5-year-old beautiful daughter will proudly walk from table to table distributing plums from the family garden for all guests to enjoy.
The gnocchi/wild boar ragù was star-worthy and Jim reports that the rabbit confit served with an intense sun-dried tomato sauce was delicious. But let us get to the dessert – panna cote with apricot sauce. The panna cote was velvety, and the sauce is made only from apricots grown in the family orchard and only when in season. It was absolutely heavenly.
We arranged for a wine tasting at a local vineyard/winery called La Querciolana, which included 15 wine tastings and lunch. Lunch consisted of a pairing for each wine, and the wine pours were more than generous. Also included was an hour-long tour of the wine production process as well as the cellars. They picked us up and took us back to the hotel. All of this included in the price of 80 euros per person, a deal for sure! Unfortunately, all the wine we bought was not included in the price but after 15 tastings, who cares??? It is just euros, for god’s sake. I can attest to the fact that Jim’s First Communion, Confirmation and Graduation monies are now supporting the local European economy, and we will be enjoying fine Italian wine for a year!
Bottom line, Panicale is must-see. Rastrello is an amazing hotel, and the local food will make your mouth sing with pleasure. This area is not a one-and-done. We will be back, next year perhaps (but not in the summer)!
Now, off to Prague!