A great event in Lucca on Friday, May 18th. The Musical Institute "Luigi Boccherini" will be open for the whole day to citizens and tourists offering concerts, performances, classes and workshops for free, giving the opportunity for children and adults to discover and experience the musical world in its different aspects. You can find the complete program at http://www.boccherini.it/index.php?id=634

In a few days the beautiful Camellia exhibition will start in the Compitese, precisely on March 10 and for three consecutive weekends. Visitors will be offered a series of events, guided visits and walking tours in the nature. Even if the place where the cultivation of the Camellia has developed most is the Southern part of the territory of the Capannori municipality, this plant can be admired also in the gardens of the villas located in the Northern part, like Villa Reale in Marlia, Villa Mansi in Segromigno and Villa Torrigiani in Camigliano, all open to visitors during the event. Transport is organised with shuttle buses connecting a parking place to PIeve di Compito and Sant'Andrea di Compito: once arrived there, it will be pleasant to walk about the old hamlets and visit the exhibitions in the historic villas.

The complete program of the event can be found at this address: http://www.camelielucchesia.it/?page_id=1029

Until March 11, in the church of San Cristoforo, Via Fillungo, do not miss a great exhibition of Marc Chagall's paintings from the period 1959-1982, among which Profil du peintre, Le trapéziste and Le roi David. Opening hours 10 am to 7.30 pm (Mondays 2.30-7.30 pm). You can find further information on the website http://www.artscristoforolucca.com

An appointment not to miss is the great Carnival of Viareggio, with its parading floats carrying enormous satirical papier-maché caricatures of politicians and show business personalities, which every year attracts hundreds of thousands people. Next dates are February 19, 21, 26 and March 3. To get more information about the program, please see the website http://www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com

An interesting event, now in its 7th year, is Lucca Photo Fest, which takes place in Lucca from November 19 to December 11. Photos by the most famous photographers in the world are shown. Over the years the festival has become reference point for Italian photography and one of the most prestigious events in Europe. The theme for 2011 edition is "Oriental Looks" and includes exhibitions from reportage to fine art, personales of great contemporary authors, as well as avant-garde and video-art works.

You can see the complete program at:http://www.lupf.it/

The autumn in Lucca is the season of "Il Desco", an event taking place from November 19 to December 11 for 4 weekends in the rooms of the Real Collegio Palace. As every year, it is an itinerary to the discovery of the gastronomic richness of Lucca and its province. The food and wines will be displayed and offered for tasting by the best producers of the territory. For the first time this year, delicacies form other regions will also participate in a culinary competition with the local products, with the aim to show the great variety of excellent food Italy has to offer.

You can see the complete program at:http://www.ildesco.eu/

September is here, a very special month for Lucca. The most popular festivity is on September 13th, Santa Croce, with the procession called Luminara in honour of the Volto Santo, protector of Lucca, the religious service in the Cathedral of San Martino and the great finale with fireworks. But also during all the month there are many events, which you can see on the program published by the Municipality on its website: http://www.comune.lucca.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/9119%20=class

This year, besides, an event long awaited both by the citizens of Lucca and its visitors will take place: the re-opening of the house where Giacomo Puccini was born in 1858. The apartment in Corte San Lorenzo was refurbished and the former museum restructured, so as to illustrate to us the life and works of the Maestro, with his music,documents, paintings, curios on display. Puccini's house will also be open for concerts and meeting to continue transmitting his music and his words.

And don't forget the markets fairs, like the one with birds at Foro Boario on September 14th, , the gardening exhibition Murabilia on the city walls, the amusement park in Sant'Anna, Via delle Tagliate and besides concerts, conferences and religious and historical re-enactments.

San Paolino, patron saint of Lucca is celebrated on July 12th, the day when he performed a miracle for which he is still remembered. The legend says that on July 12th 1664 the cannons on the wall near S. Donato Gate were put into action to shoot in honour of the Saint, but accidentally the balls were deflected toward the crowd attending the ceremony. The fact that there were no casualties was considered a miracle attributed to San Paolino.

Beside the religious ceremonies, there will be also folkoric events, like the Palio della Balestra (crossbow competition) involving the three city districts of San Paolino, San Salvatore and San Martino. The Palio della Balestra takes place in San Martino (Cathedral) Square, where the crossbowmen of every district arrive attended by a train of costumed figurants. Then, after drawing lots, they place themselves on a plank two by two, position their crossbow and attempt to hit the target (la brocca) at a distance of 36 meters.

This event takes place in the evening of July 12th at 10 pm. and is introduced by various historic parades through the city streets both on July 11th and 12th.

To celebrate Saint Zita, patron of Lucca, a flower market and exhibition is held in Piazza Anfiteatro in the time of her death's anniversary, April 27th, 1272.

Why do we remember Zita with flowers? Because it is told that while she was a housemaid at the rich Fatinelli family, she was caught by her master hiding food in her apron she had taken in the house for the poor. She claimed to carry flowers and plants, and upon her master's request to show what she was hiding, flowers and plants appeared from her apron.

From April 23rd to 27th 2011, 9 am to 8 pm, at the Fair of Santa Zita, plants and flowers are displayed by local producers in the colourful setting of Piazza Anfiteatro.

A very important event for Lucca is the camellia exhibition, which takes place in the Compitese, the southern part of the territory of Capannori, on the slopes of the Pisani Mountains, from Saturday 12th , to Sunday 27th March. The exhibition was first realized in 1989 by the Circolo Culturale del Compitese, with the aim of bringing out the traditional camellia cultivation, and over the years has become the pride of the Municipality of Capannori, acquiring international recognition and starting cooperation with other associations in Europe and in Asia.

The main places of the exhibition are two Villas : Villa Borrini and Villa Orsi, where the camellia is cultivated; however, the event is widely represented in the whole territory, with a rich program including conferences, concerts, tastings and markets.

In particular, recently the camellia of tea has become of interest and a special section is dedicated to making this plant known, in cooperation with japanese and chinese experts

The complete program is available at this web address: http://www.camelielucchesia.it/?page_id=1029

An event to remember the Italian emigrants in the past and also, in recent times, the immigration into our country of other peoples in search of better living conditions. For three months, from Februay 5 to September 18, a multimedia exhibition will be open at Palazzo Ducale in Lucca to inform and awaken the public opinion on the issue of migration.

The name of the exhibition - "On the wake of a propeller"  symbolizes the journey of those who, for centuries and up to the present day, have placed their trust in the sea to try to change their destinies.

The exhibition is a complex set where figures, pictures, films and musics are displayed with the purpose to involve the visitors emotionally. There is also a section dedicated to satirical drawing, which in every age has interpreted the major social events, like in this case migrations and the consequent racial clashes.

The exhibition at Palazzo Ducale, Piazza Napoleone, will be open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm (closed on Mondays) - free entry - special opening on Monday, April 25

Traditional appointment this year from February 20th to March 13th with the famous Viareggio Carnival, a unique event of parading floats carrying enormous satirical papier-maché caricatures of politicians and show business personalities, which every year attracts hundreds of thousands people.

Sign up for a course at Lucca Italian School in this period and live the experience of the Carnival on weekends!

Viareggio is a picturesque seaside resort not far from Lucca: it takes about half an hour by train or by bus to go there. Its Carnival is more than a century old: it was started in 1873 for the initiative of some youths of the nobility of the town, and soon found the enthusiastic involvement of all the people, becoming a symbol of the city. Over the years, the simple flower decoration of the beginnings developed into the wonderful impressive sculptures in papier-maché, constructed using the experience of shipbuilding, a traditional activity in the city of Viareggio.

Parades are scheduled on February 20, 27 and on March 6, 8 and 13.

More details on parades and neighborhood festivals can be found on the official website of the carnival at: http://www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com

We are pleased to announce the forthcoming rendezvous with Lucca Jazz Donna Festival at its 7th year. Its protagonists are women from Italy and the rest of the world playing and singing jazz. Mr Vittorio Barsotti, President of the Lucca Jazz Club, declares in an interview: The importance of this project lies in the bridging of lucchese reality with the international scene, allowing to respect and bring out jazz in Lucca, and at the same time realizing its "deprovincialisation".

The festival will take place on 5 official dates from January 29 to March 13, comprising the preliminary concert on January 29, the usual movie show at the Lucca Movie Club on February 21, the two performances dedicated to the Lucca Jazz Donna Award on February 25 and 26 and the farewell concert on March 13. As last year, the shows will be presented by Jasmine Tommaso, a young italian-american singer and graduate in Theater Arts at the University of California in Santa Cruz.

This year for the first time the music schools of the city will take part in the event, their students performing an introductory piece at each concert; besides, the audience will vote the best emerging bands, who will be awarded prizes.

You can see the complete program at:http://www.luccajazzdonna.it/?q=node/31