After a long, fun, somewhat confusing day visiting Ripafratta and Pisa, we were down to our last few days in Italy and adjusting our plans on the fly as we continued to work around the impacts of Alyssa's concussion plus our own energy levels. The ongoing balance between wanting to do more and see more vs. recognizing that a little down time would be good for all.
The perfect solution was already right in front of us, literally. Our "home base" in Tuscany was the walled city of Lucca. About 30 minutes northeast of Pisa and about 90 minutes due west of Florence, Lucca is an often-overlooked gem that is conveniently situated to visit a lot of the great places that Northern Tuscany and the coast offer. In its own right, it is a beautiful city full of its own character, charm, and very proud history. I love Lucca. But admittedly I chose it because my primary goal in Tuscany was to visit Ripafratta and get to know my roots better while visiting with Emanuela. Our rental house was 15 minutes from Ripafratta along the SS12 - a fairly easy and not-busy route along the Serchio River.
I chose an Airbnb outside the historic medieval walls of Lucca primarily because we had planned to spend a lot of time using our rental car to get to Pisa, Ripafratta, La Spezia, and a longer day trip to Southern Tuscany to visit the Chianti, Vino Nobile (Noh-bee-lay), and possibly Brunello wine regions while exploring a few idyllic Tuscan hill towns along the way. Driving within Lucca's walls is difficult. Finding a house with parking convenient to the actual house is nearly impossible. I'm all for embracing as much of the local culture as possible, but if I have a car, I want to walk right outside, hop in it, and go. Thus, outside the walls we were.
We ended up booking the house named 'La Capanna' ("the hut") through Airbnb, and I honestly think I could not have chosen a better spot. I'm not sure the photos I share here do it justice, but the owners had purchased a very old, run-down (not as rundown as the Conforti home in Ripafratta) home and refurbished it into a beautiful house open to vacationers. It maintains a rustic charm with stone walls, exposed wood ceilings, and antique items hanging from the walls and ceiling all over the place. I particularly enjoyed the old fashioned pizzelle maker hanging from the wall in the kitchen. My momma makes the best pizzelle, and I am not allowed to share the family recipe, but here, try this one and you'll love it.
La Capanna and the tight turn into the driveway
The cucina in La Capanna
La Capanna is located a block off a very busy Viale San Concordio just under a mile south of the walls of Lucca - and thus not really in a neighborhood - more so surrounded by businesses. However, within a few blocks was Bar Tabacchi L'Angolo, Rifornaccio pizzeria, and a very hidden gem in Leo's Steakhouse.
L'Angelo was our spot each morning to get a quick cup of coffee or cappuccino and a small pastry (cornetto) - it is not a lame ass basketball player. Anyway, the little cups of coffee were a Euro each, the cornetti maybe Euro-50. The owner was there every morning, and while not very talkative, was polite and seemed to warm to us a little bit more and more each morning.
L'Angelo: The Italian 7-11, except the coffee was really good.
About a block or two in the other direction was Rifornaccio pizzeria and they were a one-stop shop for just about any meal we wanted. They too had coffee and cappuccino and a larger selection of cornetti and other pasticceria to choose from. Given the name, they obviously had pizza - a thicker style we had not seen yet in Italy, and it was "sold by the meter"! Lucca is proud of their breads and focaccia is one of them. This pizza seemed to be made on light focaccia and it was incredible. Probably most like "Detroit" style pizza here in the US. But I will never mistake bella Lucca for Detroit... nor would anyone else in their right mind. Rifornaccio also sold panini. Really a nice place.
Don't worry, we walked it all off
Pizza by the meter, and oh, so good!
Leo's. Well, Leo's was just downright special. A block or two beyond Rifornaccio, Leo's would be a place you would probably drive by and not think too much about. Or maybe you'd notice that the parking lot and the outdoor dining area always seemed to be fairly busy. But the building is rather unassuming, and one could easily pass it by.
Julé had gone in there the night Alyssa had conked her head looking for ice since all the mini-marts and markets were closed. They generously gave her a bag of ice and a few bottles of water to take home. So, if for no other reason, Julé told me she wanted to go have dinner there as a way to repay the owner (Leo) for his generosity. People are much more generous in Italy than here in the US.
Finally, an evening came where we were not dead tired, already full, or busy doing something else, so we left the kids to their own devices and walked the 5 minutes down to Leo's not entirely sure what we would be in for but knowing it would be a nice experience. It was more than a nice experience. It was 1000000% what Julé and I needed. I may not be the best judge of a restaurant quality. I'm not going to be consulted to establish how many Michelin stars a place should have. But I do know that in my life, I can barely think of a streak that I have enjoyed better than the filetto di manzo (beef tenderloin) that I had at Leo's. It simply melted in my mouth. Its flavors exploded upon each bite. I could not believe that I was having such a wonderful tenderloin in a place that I'm guessing so many people pass by daily - although clearly the people that live in the area knew about it and were filling in most seats to relax and enjoy their neighborhood gem. I had my tenderloin paired with an Italian beer (La Petrognola Italia Sassorosso) and lightly air fried veggies. Julé opted for their ravioli in a creamy pecorino sauce served with a dinner salad. She also ordered a beer - this one fruitier than mine (Menabrea Bionda Italia).
My filetto and veggies
Julé with her ravioli and salad
While dinner greatly satisfied both our hunger and our pallet, something told us not to ignore the dessert menu, so we said we'd "look" but were trying to convince ourselves not to order any dolce. That is until I saw the magic words on the menu. The quest that I was after in Tuscany. Vinsanto. For this trip, I was on a quest to purchase two things to bring home. Just. Two. Things. A bottle of Limoncino from Cinque Terre, but it was nowhere to be found. And a bottle of Vinsanto from a winery we were planning to visit on our intended day trip to Southern Tuscany's Montepulciano or Montalcino. Given that we were no longer planning that day drive, I figured my chances of tasting Vinsanto prior to purchasing a bottle were gone. Vinsanto is a dessert wine and each small wine region in Tuscany has their own version of it. But it is a thick dessert wine that is served slightly warm with small biscotti called cantuccini. There is no doubt I would walk into any of the 3 or 4 nearby markets and randomly purchase a bottle of Vinsanto, but I wanted to try some before purchasing and figured that opportunity was lost. Vinsanto is not readily available for purchase here in the US. Total wines carries one brand with the generic "Italian dessert wine" from a vendor who happens to sell a lot of different types of Italian wines. Fine, but I wanted the Vinsanto that came from wineries in Tuscany that specialize in their one particular kind of wine whether that be Vino Nobile, Brunello, Chianti, etc. So, my eyes lit up and my excitement grew to see Vinsanto Toscano la tradizione on the menu. Traditional Tuscan Vinsanto. At least I could try it.
Vinsanto and Vin-Julé ala pana cotta
I like Vinsanto. A. Lot. Guess I have to go back. Shucks.
Leaving our neighborhood and heading into Lucca itself, there were a few other treats to sample. Over the next couple of days, we were not venturing as far, minus another trek into Florence. So we got a lot of time to explore one of my favorite Italian cities - Lucca.
Lucca is beautiful. Lucca is quaint. Lucca is peaceful. Lucca is full of history. It doesn't have leaning towers and massive Cathedrals (although it has a few impressive ones). It doesn't have world renowned art galleries or collections of statues from the most famous of Italian artists and sculptors. But it has enough of that while maintaining a charm of its own.
As for its culinary delights beyond the bar, pizzeria, and steakhouse near La Capanna, a visit to Lucca is not complete without sampling the breads they are famous for. Buccellato, focaccia, and schiacciata. Buccellato is a desert bread and Buccellato Taddeucci is the place to buy it. Buccellato is a sweet, firm bread typically with an anise and raisin flavor. Variations do exist, but at Buccellato Taddeucci they stick to the Lucchesi tradition of anise, raisin, and dates. Of if you like it with walnuts as well, you can get that. I ordered one of each and since Julé nor the kids like the taste of anise or are allergic to eating walnuts, I had these to myself over the next few mornings. Arrive early at Buccellato Taddeucci or they might sell out. I went after morning Mass on Sunday and after waiting in a 10-minute line, walked out with my prize.
Buccellato with walnuts (left) and without (right)
Focaccia can be found all over the place, even here in the US. But focaccia in Lucca is a source of pride. Most of you are familiar with focaccia - a flat, thick break sometimes seasoned only with olive oil, other times with tomato or cheese. In Lucca, it came as plain as could be with the olive oil considered enough to treat you to heaven. But here in Lucca, focaccia has a sister known as schiacciata. At a glance, the two look the same. Whereas focaccia is thick and chewy, schiacciata has a crunchy crust and a moist and almost creamy interior. Scoring a schiacciata sliced in half and then stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto then toasted like a panini is a common and crazy good Lucca (or Tuscan) street food you can find just about anywhere. But I was told by Emanuela and Edoardo that there was only ONE place to purchase focaccia and schiacciata, and that place was Forno a Vapore Amedeo Giusti which was located just a block away from Buccellato Taddeucci. In other words, I was standing at the intersection of delicious and heavenly good in the middle of Lucca - just off the piazza where the 11th century cathedral of Lucca is - St. Michele in Foro is located. And what a special treat given that one of my best friends is Tony Giusti - we've known each other forever, and I was aware that his family originates from Lucca. So, I could visit bis-bis-bis-bis nonno (great great great great grandfather) Giusti's shop and buy his highly recommended focaccia and schiacciata.
Delicious and heavenly. I can verify that on the buccellato. But as for the focaccia and schiacciata - well, Forno a Vapore Amedeo Giusti was not open. It was Sunday. Maybe they are not open on Sundays (a lot of places are closed on Sundays in Italy). Darn. Oh well, I'll come back tomorrow.
Forno Amedeo was closed when we showed up late on Monday. I failed. No Limoncino. No Giusti bread.
Guess I have to go back. Shucks.
I love Lucca. It ranks up there with my other favorite Italian cities. Venezia has a special place in my heart for sure. Roma is magical. Firenze is unequalled in many ways. But charming little Lucca is perfect in its own right.
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