Lucca Summer Festival
The Lucca Summer Festival, takes annually place in July and always welcomes some of the most popular and renowned musicians, singers and bands of any time, coming from all around the world. A series of dates with high quality music always draws people coming from all Italy and Europe who eagerly await concerts like those that are, for many bands, their exclusive Italian or European date. In July, for example, Bob Dylan (plus Francesco de Gregori), Paolo Nutini, Billy Idol, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Robbie Williams, Lenny Kravitz and Snoopy Dog (just to mention a few). Piazza Napoleone is the place where usually concerts are held, but sometimes artists are welcomed to perform also in Piazza Anfiteatro (I happened to see a Patty Smith's concert many years ago). A whole month of great music that you shouldn’t miss out if you are in Lucca in July.
Following on from the Summer Festival, Lucca is also home to the Winter Festival that usually takes place from October to December with a wide choice of concerts held in the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca; Gino Paoli and Mario Biondi are some of the artists performing during the past edition.
Let's keep talking about music, there’s another outstanding event in Lucca, usually held in April at Foro Boario: Lucca Blues Festival. This festival, being only in its second year, is not as popular as the one held in Pistoia (Pistoia Blues) that is taking place for many years now, but it welcomes anyhow blues bands and singers alternating throughout the second weekend of April.
Lucca Comics & Games
Lucca Comics & Games has been taking place in Lucca for many years now - is usually held during the last weekend of October and is considered one of the most important events dedicated to comics, cartoons, games, video games in all Europe. The manifestation offers an exposition area filled with hundreds of stands exposing a bit of everything and an area - actually spread out all over the historical center inside the walls - dedicated to exhibitions, shows, live performances, role playing and board games, historical reenactments of medieval games with people dressed up in costumes of the period, wearing armour and so on. Since the manifestation mainly takes place within the ancient walls, the setting is, obviously, incredibly suggestive, with all those bastions and underground itineraries playing an important role and being, actually, the ancient city prisons.
Paper art
The first international festival dedicated to paper came into being in Lucca, about 11 year ago and now it’s a manifestation that takes place every two years: Cartasia. Paper monuments and huge sculptures welcome visitors coming from everywhere in Europe, attracted by these peculiar masterpieces of paper art: the manifestation, in fact, consists of several international contests which universities across the world and Tuscan schools among the first are welcomed to participate for realizing these authentically amazing works.
The culinary tradition
A culinary date with the typical flavours of Lucca and the province is called Il Desco. This is a manifestation annually held in the Real Collegio in the very heart of Lucca center in late October - early November (in 2015, being in its 10th year, Desco took place from November 14 to December 8). Not only is it an exhibition and market for the special ingredients that are found only in Lucca, but it also traces the recipes that grew around these ingredients. - as a leit motiv - all the culinary tradition of this marvellous city.
Running across a marvellous landscape
Yes, we run! is the slogan advertising another event taking annually place in Lucca, or to be more precise, in the countryside just outside the city: the Marcia delle Ville (Running the Villas). For all sports passionates, this is a fixed date: both expert runners or amateurs will find something to sink their teeth into! There will be competitive races running on different length tracks - from 3.5 to 28 kms - all winding their way through the magnificent historical villas that have contributed to made this outside part of Lucca famous throughout the world. The longest track runs through all the 11 villas, the farmhouses and working farms, offering a sort of jump back in time, completely immersed in that wonderful artistic and cultural reality that makes Lucca and its countryside so special. Many rest stops offering local specialties and drinks will be located along the tracks and at the arrival. Everyone getting to the finish line will be given a prize.
Content above courtesy of https://www.discovertuscany.com
For further events, check out the following sites.