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Today I read on il Corriere della Sera (see the article in Italian) that Lucca’s center-right city government has passed a local law that will not allow the opening of new restaurants preparing dishes “of a different ethnic origin”. So no more Kebab or Couscous shops at least within the old city walls, the most beautiful, historical part of Lucca. The existing restaurants are “encouraged” to add to their menu a few typical dishes from Lucca, like minestra di farro or castagnaccio.

The first impression I got was that there’s something very wrong with this law, that it somehow seems to be inspired by some sort of gastronomic racism! Then, reading more about it (like here) it turns out that the law also regards other fast food type of places, such as pizza shops that sell pizza by the slice. It seems, however, that the kebab points are particularly under fire because it was said that “there are too many, they are ugly and smell”.

A representative of the city government explains that inside the walls, in 4 square kilometers, there are already 5 kebab places and several other fast food establishments. These places are often really small with no place to sit down and eat. In their opinion, they constrain people to eat in the piazzas sitting under the city’s main monuments, often leaving the remains of their meals on the streets. The new law is intended to maintain the city’s decorum by limiting the growth of these type of food shops, while at the same time promoting traditional restaurants that prepare typical dishes of both Lucca and Tuscany.

Explained in this manner, the law does not seem that bad. There are already similar laws in other cities. For example, on the boardwalk in Viareggio only certain types of shops, those that “increase the touristic value of the city”, are allowed. Still I believe they could have been more diplomatic and not refer to food of a “different ethnicity” in describing the fast food places that will no longer be allowed to open within the historic walls.

It would be interesting to hear the opinion of someone living in Lucca.

It is still quite cold in Florence and wet. At least this past Saturday there was a little bit of weak sunshine in between the rainy days as I made my way south of Florence towards Galluzzo. This small town on the outskirts of southern Florence is well-known for its “Certosa” which also gives its name to the “Firenze-Certosa” exit off the A1 road that passes really close by. Just imagine, though, that when this monastery was built in the early 13th century on a hill between two rivers, this was countryside and quite isolated from the city of Florence.

Continue reading about the Certosa monastery »

Last December 14 saw the inauguration of the new high speed railway connecting Milan and Rome, crossing most of the country on a north-south direction.

This is one of the biggest public infrastructure works carried out in Italy in the last decades. The project is foreseen to be fully completed within the end of the current year.

Continue reading about Italy's high speed rail »

A not-to be-missed exhibit currently in Florence is without a doubt the one dedicated to Rafael’s famous painting, the Madonna del Cardellino, which after years of restoration has returned to shine more beautiful than ever.
On a recent day we went to Palazzo Medici Riccardi which is just a stone’s throw from the Cathedral and where the painting is on exhibition after a demanding period of restoration as it awaits to be relocated to the Uffizi Gallery.

The Madonna del Cardellino is not the only work on display in this exhibition, in fact, there are four additional works from the same period (early 500’s): The “Gravida” (attributed to Raphael), the “Monk” (from the Florentine school) and the interesting table that covered this painting and a characteristic glass terracotta by Girolamo della Robbia, “The Madonna, Child and Saint John.”

Read more about the exhibition >>