• LUCCA

Lucca is an ancient and storied town located between Florence and Pisa in the Italian region of Tuscany. It is encircled by a 4km four-sided wall called the Passeggiata delle Mura Urbane.

The town is often nicknamed the “Town of 101 Churches” for its proliferation of churches, several of which date back to the 8^th century.

With its central streets dotted with boutiques, elegant shops and patisseries, the city leaves no room for boredom.

Lucca’s gastronomical traditions are truly irresistible! It is a genuine, simple cuisine that owes much to its humble agricultural origins and is based on seasonally available crops.

What to eat in Lucca? You can’t miss these three specialities:

• Start with garmugia, a spring soup made with artichokes, peas, asparagus and bacon served with toasted bread.
• Considered a gourmet speciality, tordelli lucchesi are fresh pasta tortelli stuffed with pork and beef, broth-soaked bread, Parmesan cheese, eggs and herbs, then dressed with meat sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.
• Finally, the buccellato di Lucca is a sure winner for those with a sweet tooth with its doughnut shape and aniseed aroma. Here it is eaten by dipping it in wine.
• PISA, The City of the Leaning Tower 

Vibrant and animated by the great history exuding from its walls, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the city’s symbol and the most famous Italian monument in the world, immediately springs to mind. Along with the cathedral and the baptistery, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is part of a complex of works that Gabriele D’Annunzio dubbed «Miracles», hence the name Piazza dei Miracoli, which perfectly defines the place that houses them.

Monuments, museums and impressive buildings of inestimable artistic value preserve the memory of Pisa as a Maritime Republic that, for a long time, was the undisputed master of the Mediterranean.

The cuisine of Pisa is imaginative and tasty. Regardless of its poor origins, it combines land and sea in explosive combinations of flavour that the whole world envies. What to eat in Pisa?

• Pappa al pomodoro, naturally: a first course of peasant origin prepared with stale Tuscan bread, tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil.
• But also, thecastagnaccio, a poor man’s cake that will win over the sweet toothed: typical of Pisa, prepared with chestnut flour, sultanas, walnuts, pine nuts and chopped rosemary.
• And then there is the minestra di pane, also known as zuppa alla pisana (bread soup), which is a tasty dip made from a mix of stale Tuscan bread, white beans, kale or cabbage, chard, potatoes, carrots, ham rinds, tomatoes and other simple ingredients for flavour.