Colors of Lucca - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

Lucca is a city of haute culture and arts. Besides this is an established place of an exciting original event being Lucca Comics and Game Festival. The fest was first held in 1966 and since that time the engaging festival taking place at the end of October has been attracting thousands of comics fans annually. Up until 1993 the festival was only devoted to comics and it was attended by many renowned authors and artists who shared their plans and ideas with fans. Engaging fairs and presentations took place within the festival and like minded mates shared the experience and their opinions on the recently read comics.

In 1993 the festival got another significant feature. Its program was added with computer games and simulators topics. The essential ingredient of the festival was bright and exciting carnival processions and since 1993 the procession has turned into the main festival entertainment. The streets of the city turn filled with the heroes of computer games. Horrendous orgies, elves archers, wizards in starry sky color gowns are the main participants of carnival processions.

The festival will be of great interest not only for comics readers and admirers and gamers but for the youngest travelers. A special entertaining program with sportive games, contests and competitions for youngest festival travelers is also included in the schedule of the event. The major part of the events takes place in the historic part of the Lucca town. Interesting exhibitions and meetings are organized there daily. The event full of fairy-tale characters looks even more fantastic and impressive on the background of ancient castles and antique squares. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

In 2001 the opening of the Lucca Comics Museum was held and thus one can explore the interesting collection not only within the festival but at any particular time. The Lucca Comics and Game Festival is by far not a solitary cultural event of the city life. An upscale music fest of Lucca Summer Festival takes place annually in summer. Popular rock bands are engaged in the show. The stage for the open air festival is mounted on the Piazza Napoleone. The classic music fans will love the Puccini Festival which takes place in the second part of August. The festival is dedicated to the activity and creations of renowned musician and composer. The September Medieval Festival will be of great interest for history enthusiasts. Within this festival many exciting entertaining events are held.

Another colorful music festival is held in the city in the summer. This time, jazz music takes over the baton. We are talking about an event called the Anfiteatro Jazz taking place at the very beginning of June thus marking the start of the summer season. As the name suggests, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro becomes the venue where you can listen to mindblowing melodies. This is ensured not only by the high professionalism of musicians but also by the wonderful acoustics. This is an open-air festival, which means that there is no need to spend time in a stuffy room when the weather is fine outside.

Movie buffs would be more interested in the Lucca Film Festival and Europa Cinema that is held in mid-April. At this time in Lucca, you can meet one of the celebrities who arrived at the event to compete with other cinema figures for the right to be called the best. In addition to film screenings in various cinemas in the city, visitors to the festival can also enjoy exhibitions, conferences, meets-and-greets. Genres of premieres presented range from traditional comedies to experimental movies so every festival guest will find a good movie to their liking.

No less interesting are festivals taking place in the vicinity of Lucca. For example, Pistoia Blues, which can be visited at the beginning of the second summer month. It is worth noting that the festival is dedicated not only to blues, as indicated by the name of the event, but also to rock music. The large-scale action takes place in the open air on Piazza Duomo, which means that, besides listening to quality music, tourists have a unique opportunity to admire local attractions. Among gastronomic festivals, the Terre di Pisa Food & Wine is of special interest. This one is held in mid-October and offers tourists an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with Tuscan cuisine. The venues are restaurants and cafes where chefs treat visitors to their best specialties.

In mid-December, before the celebration of Christmas (Natale), an antique market opens, which is not inferior in scale to the similar fair in Arezzo. At this time, in the central streets of the city, one can see hundreds of souvenir shops full of interesting products - this is where local residents prefer to buy gifts for their loved ones for the upcoming holiday. And all this happens in a city with a medieval atmosphere, which makes the fair even more interesting. While in Lucca (which, however, applies to any other Tuscan city), one fact should be taken into account: virtually all museums, archaeological sites, and botanical gardens guarantee free admission on the first Sunday of every month.