LUCCA KNOWS ME WELL...DA VERO

One of the fun sculptures at the paper art expo.

When I was first struggling to learn enough Italian to get around and to feel comfortable here, I made it a priority to learn how to say, "I don't know that.  I'm a foreigner" (non lo so...sono straneiro).  I needed some quick and easy way to escape from conversations that repeatedly seemed to find me when I was out walking or riding my bike.  Maybe people approached me because I was alone and seemed to belong here.  I don't know.  But my language skills just weren't good enough to give people directions in Italian, even if I knew the answer to the question.  

The word "straneiro" (stranger/foreigner)is a variant of the base word "strano" meaning "strange".  I admit it.  I am  definitely strange and I am often a stranger here, though things have improved a lot over the years to make me feel more at home here.  One of the strongest impressions I had of Lucca itself was that it was such a strange place itself.  I've been around the block, mind you.  Traveling and living abroad was a big part of my early life as an English instructor overseas.  Traveling the globe and seeing all the sights was part of my life for more than 2 decades.  I've been to most of the obvious tourist destinations on the planet.  London, Paris, Geneva, Cairo, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Prague, Athens. St. Andrews, Munich, and on and on.  But what blew me away about Lucca was it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.  Lucca was just so wildly different.  I, like most Americans, had never heard of this place.  Lucca was delightfully STRANGE.  Here was  city that spoke to me.  It was as strange as I was.  A match made in heaven.

I think part of the appeal of Lucca is that the folks who live here (Luccaise) make a real effort to emphasize that this place really is "different" in a very good way.  Lucca is right in the middle of Italy.  No denying that.  But one of the largest tourist groups who visit here are Italians.  They come here because it is so unlike any other place in the country.  It's "strange" in a way that is attractive.  Opposites attract, as they say.  Lucca sells itself as being the opposite of what most people experience in Italy and the rest of the world as well.  People come here to get away from the hustle, the noise, the congestion, the chaos, the rat race.  Lucca is a Disney movie set located in the middle of tourist hell, otherwise known as Tuscany.  When I'm lucky enough to have visitors come here for a few days, I try to take them up on the huge wall surrounding the city and show them what life looks like on the outside of the wall.  Traffic, cars, horns blaring, ambulance sirens, everyone in a hurry to "get somewhere".  Then we can walk 30 feet to view the life inside the protective shield provided by the walls.  Silence.  People on foot.  People on bicycles. People strolling, holding hands.  Children running free because the danger of cars doesn't exist.Life in suspended animation.  It's an island of calm in the middle of the Italian ocean.  It's so STRANGE.  

                

The wall is much more than a wall.  It's an entertainment center, park, meeting place, and barrier to chaos.

The smart managers of Lucca know that this city can't compete with the likes of Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples et al on the basis of spectacular art works and tourist sights.  What the Luccaise have decided to do to prosper is to attract the unusual, the "off the wall" stuff and throw in the "on the wall" experience as a bonus. 

 Once every 2 years the city hosts an exposition of paper artworks (who ever heard of that?) which are displayed throughout the central city.  I look forward to this fun treat because the sculptures and various displays are so well done and always unique ("strano") to be honest.  The outdoor sculptures are assigned a QR code which people are invited to vote for.  I don't know if the winners ever get any sort of prize or award but their works are always thought provoking and playful.

          DataMorphosis.  A giant spider cocoon holding computer tablets, suspended from one of the arches.  Now that is "different"!    

               

This week is also featuring the Lucca Film Festival.  I have sort of been oblivious to this wonderful celebration of new films on my previous visits, but this year I decided to check it out.  I'm so glad I did.  This is day 6 out of 9 and I've seen 5 fabulous original films by directors from around the globe who submitted their works.  There were about 50 films chosen for this year's event...way more than I can watch because films are being shown in 3 different theaters, all at the same times, so I go with my friend Sergio to the theater closest to his apartment as the default venue and like to see the afternoon film because that's when I'm looking for something to do.  I can quite safely say that I've seen more movies on the big screen the past 5 days than I have in the previous 4 decades.  And I'm actually enjoying the trip.

                

Lucca Film Festival

And if you are a lover of classical music, September is the month when the concerts start again.  This is totally strange for me because I can't tell the difference between an oboe and a guitar but I go because the music transports me to another dimension.  Most of the extraordinary performers can play for 45 minutes WITHOUT any sheet music.  They are literally playing extraordinary complex selections from memory!  This level of skill and artistry would be way beyond anything available to me at home, but here it's just the norm.  The concert series that I hit upon this year consists of 4 concerts sponsored by the classical music school of Lucca which charges $5.00 per concert and which includes a reception following the performance complete with champagne and a wide selection of snacks.  Yup.  Da vero.

                     

Sundays at noon. Classical music followed by champagne and snacks.  How civilized!

These concerts this year are very well attended with many of the folks in the audience being foreigners(strangers like me).  That's  probably because Sundays are reserved for visiting Mama (gramma actually) for traditional Italian families.  You go to have a big meal with gramma and then go for a walk after eating to walk off the food coma.  So having a concert at noon on Sunday is a bit of a stretch for local Luccaise.  But for us strangers it's the perfect time to enjoy wonderful music, good grog and meet new people.  For me, it doesn't get any better. 

Finally, I'll briefly mention the strangest of all the Luccaise attractions (from my point of view).  That would be the Lucca Comics festival at the end of October.  More than 100,000 groupies invade the city for 3 days and literally overwhelm the city with devotees of comics and fantasy games, movies, computer generated content that I have never been able to appreciate.  The streets are clogged with people in costumes of Darth Vader, The Incredible Hulk, Super Mario, Donald Duck, and God knows what else.  Apartments (including mine) rent out months in advance for 5-10 times the going rate of what owners normally charge, restaurants are jammed, taxis are scarce, and I make it a priority to get out of town well in advance of the visitors.  I don't want any part of the "fun".  It's just one step too far on the strange spectrum.  Even I have my limits.

        

    One of the displays for vendors of the Lucca Comics.  I just can't get my head around the allure of of the whole subculture of fantasy.  It's just too strange for me.

So that's my oddball rant on why I just don't seem to fit in like a normal person.  Friends and family really find me somewhat strange.  But Lucca, for some strange reason finds me no matter where I go.  Lucca seems to know me well.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Dan

Life Sucks. Then you die.

       

   

My 2 sisters(Barb on left and Jean) at the Cinque Terre

Life sucks.  Then you die.  This was a bumper sticker that was absolutely perfect for me.  I saw it decades ago and never forgot it.  Short. Brutally honest. American Haiku.  Five words.  A summation of everything we struggle with in life boiled down to something you could read, understand, and nod your head at while you waited for the light to change.  3 seconds of wisdom plastered on a bumper sticker on the car in front of you.

For those of you who might be totally confused as to what a bumper sticker is, let me try to explain.  Big American automobiles used the have heavy steel "bumpers" attached to the front and rear frame of the car to protect the car and the occupants from accidental collisions.  They were then covered with chrome to make them more decorative to the observer.  Eventually these "bumpers" became a perfect place to offer all sorts of messages that people wanted to spread.  This was one way to extend your message's reach before there was a thing we now call the Internet.  Anything and everything was fair game to print on a paper bumper sticker that could be slapped on your car, usually on the rear bumper where it was easy to read.  You could advertise a business (e.g. Wall Drug of South Dakota, Tommy Bartlett's water show, Virginia is for lovers...etc).  You could plead your political views(America...Love it or leave it, I don't vote...it just encourages the bastards, the only difference between Democrats and Republicans is what they lie about).  Or in my favorite category, you can summarize all of life in a sentence...e.g. "concrete waits for no man"; "my karma ran over my dogma"; "imagine whirlled peas".  Life reduced to the lowest common denominator.

Time to get serious.  The last 2 weeks has been exhausting and emotionally draining for me.  I got a very disturbing message from my sister,Barb, saying that my other sister, Jean was so weak from her ongoing cancer battle that she was unconscious and going into hospice care that day.  I was really confused and upset because I had talked to her via a video chat just 8 days before and she seemed to be doing Okay.  I wanted to check on her before I left for Italy for 2 months because I didn't know if I would need to make an emergency return trip if she suddenly got worse.  From the way she appeared, everything seemed stable.  And then, just 24 hours before I was supposed to go, all hell broke loose.  She fell into a coma.  She was basically on life support. And I knew she would not last long.  The big question that nobody could answer was "how long will this drag on?".  This was the classic damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  If I sat at home and just waited, this could drag on for weeks.  And if I left, I would almost surely need to come back soon for the funeral.  In the end, I chose to leave an just wait for the final shoe to drop.  5 days later, I got the ugly news.  So I made my return flight reservations, packed an overnight bag, and spent the next 6 days on airplanes, in airports, hotels, and rental cars in a mad dash get out to Wisconsin for the funeral.  The "good news"?.  I made it to the funeral with 2 hours to spare.  The "bad news"?  No need to explain.  

I'm at a point in my life where I realize my days are very limited and they seem to pass with increased speed.  My days are very much coming to an end, just like my sister Jean.  I've simply got a bit of an extension.  More than anything, that's what pulls me to Italy again and again.  Italy, and specifically Lucca, just seems to be impervious to to change. 

     

The main shopping street in Lucca

 The old walled city just won't accept the rat race and jumble of the outside world.  It's a frozen in time cocoon where people walk and ride bicycles to get to work. It's willing to accept cellphones and credit cards and tourist throngs, but tearing down the walls to let in traffic...good luck with that!  Sit down for a cupaccino, go for a stroll with friends, have a slow lunch with a glass of wine.  Enjoy your time while you have it!  It's not going to be here forever.  

So, now that the trauma and turmoil are settling down a bit, I can prepare to go back to my hideout for a few weeks to recover.  I'll be more than ready to meet my old friend Sergio for a cup of coffee at the Cafe Ninci and just sit at the table to watch Lucca stay it's dull, boring, timeless self.  I'm more than ready for just enjoying the day.  Who knows how many I have left?

I really am trying to live in a world without any bumper stickers.  No cars...no bumper stickers.

That's my story, and I'm stickin to it.