We're awake early and raring to go. I look out the window to the street below and happen to see our man on his Bike Friday off to an early start, the tails of his rain jacket flapping in the wind. An hour or so later we're on our way, too.
As we leave Lucca, dramatic lighting for its walls
Today we ride through some lovely Tuscan countryside and visit Villa Torrigiani and the gardens of Villa Garzoni. We also get caught in some downpours and have what seems like very many kilometers in the rain on a road with heavy traffic.
Our first goal is the magnificent, at least that is what I read, Villa Mansi in Segromigno. What a disappointment to find it locked up. We later find out that it has been recently sold and it in not known when it will re-open. I imagine the costs for the upkeep for these properties are horrendous and that the finance crisis is being felt here, too.
We have some time to explore the elegant garden of Villa Torrigiani before joining the guided tour through the elaborate rooms of the mansion. Up until 1967, when the villa was opened to the public, it was inhabited or at least used for formal occasions by the Prince of Stigliano Don Carlo Colonna and his wife Simonetta. I can't imagine living in those rooms, elegant but totally lacking in comfort. I didn't even see signs of any form of heating.
Villa Torrigiani. The original facade, much less ornate, was remodeled when Louis XIV and Versailles were setting the standards
After taking a sandwich and coffee break in a small cafe, we continue on to Collodi where we can admire the Villa Garzoni from a distance, also no longer open to the public, and wander about its extensive gardens which were already famous for their splendor in the 18th centruy. Here we have terrasses, fountains, statues galore, labyrinths and an outdoor theater.
Enough sightseeing for today. In Pescia, a picturesque town located on both sides of the river Pescia, we are feeling a little worn from the rain and traffic. We take a quick ride around town, looking for a place to sleep.
