Lucia's Villa In Lucca™

Nestled high within the Apennine Mountains lies the enchanting medieval town of Barga, home to Beatrice’s unique Tuscan cooking classes. Take a step back in time as you make your way down the Villa’s captivating and majestic garden path and through the century-old grand doorway. Beatrice and her team of chefs are waiting to take you on an unforgettable culinary adventure where you will learn the ancient secrets and methods of Italy’s most humble cuisine.

Lucca Cooking Classes

It’s often pointed out that Tuscan cooking has its roots in cucina povera – peasant cooking. It’s certainly true that Tuscan dishes are both modest and elegantly flavored, but it is also true that the art of good food cultivation, preparation, cooking and most importantly, eating (naturally with the company of a good wine) is a central theme in local dialogues and remains to this day an unwavering, valued and integral part of Barga life. A trip to the Family Farm run by Guido, Beatrice’s father, will allow you to witness first-hand the care and skills which are invested into the territory by the local farmers.

At the farm, you will also meet some other members of Beatrice’s extended family: Giove and his two lovely ladies Giunone and Tepepa – the farm’s cock and hens. Here learn to recognize the differences between home-eggs and store-bought eggs, and later how to use these fresh eggs in specialities like sformato, and torta di mele, apple cake, naturally with the home-grown apples.

During your cooking classes, learn traditional recipes such as bruschetta – with tomato, crostini – with vegetarian or paté, panzanella, soups of local spelt and beans, home-made pasta and ravioli with exquisite fresh sauces, and desserts made with local ricotta cheese or freshly picked fruit to name but a few.

Each class is followed by lunch or dinner where each guest enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class.  Tuscan desserts follow with Vin Santo and cantucci.

Lucca Accommodations

Check in to the exquisite Villa, located in the quaint and picturesque Tuscan town of Barga, high in the Apennine Mountains, close to the city of Lucca.  The family welcomes each guest like family while sharing traditions and culture.  The Villa was built in 1924 by the Castelvecchi family during the Art Nouveau period.  After years of working in Scotland, the family returned to Barga.

The Villa is set in Barga’s giardino, close to the historic center. Guests have views of both dramatic mountain scenery on one side of the Villa, and a direct view of the beautiful medieval old-town of Barga on the other – the perfect setting for an inspirational Tuscan cooking classes.

Rooms are furnished with antique furniture, mosaic floors, Murano glass lamps, hand-woven carpets from Florence, wrought iron banisters, and artwork by the Barga-born painter Bruno Cordati. The same style and sophistication that is in the hotel’s common areas are also found in the bright and spacious guest’s bedrooms.  Comfortable beds are dressed in Italian linens and each room has its private ensuite bath.  Wifi and TVs are offered in each room.  A daily buffet breakfast is included with Italian cakes and biscotti, crostata, fresh fruits, eggs, cereals, cheeses, ham and salumi, along with Cappuccino, espresso and tea.  After enjoying a traditional  breakfast, guests can relax in the reading room, unwind in the hotel bar, or sit back and enjoy an Italian coffee, aperitivo or Prosecco on the terrace overlooking the garden by the swimming pool.

A grand and scenic hydro-massage swimming pool tucked within the privacy of the Villa’s extensive gardens offers the perfect opportunity for guests to unwind and take in some of the Tuscan Sun while a bar service is always available. Just a short five-minute walk from the Hotel guests can enjoy all that is on offer in Barga’s Old Town.

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The Town Of Barga

Barga is home to a vast music, food and art culture, and throughout the year hosts many events, shows, exhibitions and food and wine tastings such as La Sagra di Porchetta – Roast Pork Festival, and the Festa di Cioccolato – Chocolate festival in December. During the summer from June through to September, enjoy any one of the many music festivals in Barga such as Opera Barga, Barga Jazz, and Festa di Centro Storico, during which live music can almost always be heard and enjoyed in the town’s open piazzas.  A stunning antique market is also set up in Barga’s Old town on the first Sunday of each month.

Tuscan Seasons

Like most gastronomic traditions in Italy, Tuscan menu change seasonally, which allows the delicious local menus to vary all throughout the year.  Our chef uses farm-to-table ingredients in her cooking classes such as garden tomatoes, squash and squash flowers to porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, olive oil, polenta, spelt, artisan cheese, and local wine.

Chestnuts & Mushrooms

Autumn in Tuscany translates to truffles, chestnuts, pumpkins and winter squash. The bright and deep greens turn to the warmer yellows and browns of falling leaves.  Autumn is still warm, and the daytime temperature is perfect for a walk in nature, especially if you head towards the chestnut woods. The beauty of these tall trees and the color of their fruits make for a splendid stroll. This is the chestnut season in Tuscany, which means you will be able to make and taste all kinds of chestnut specialties, such as chestnut-flour pasta and castagnaccio, chestnut cake.

Depending on the summer rainfall, this area’s mushroom season can begin as early as August through to October. Guests can go mushroom-picking in the forest to pick their own porcini, or simply await the arrival of the brimming baskets which local mushroom-pickers bring back daily to the kitchen.

The Garfagnana

In your free time, discover the Garfagnana with a local market every Thursday morning. The Garfagnana’s own nature and wildlife park Orechiella is also a must see, and guests can spend the whole day there. You can dine in their charming restaurant or bring a Tuscan picnic lunch with you.

The zone of La Garfagnana is known for its mushrooms, including the rare prugnoli primaverili, chestnuts and spelt. Barga is known for its black and white truffles, and depending on what time of year you come, you may be able to hunt for white or black truffles.

Lucca & The Finest Italian Olive Oils

Lucca was the home of Giacomo Puccini and Leonardo da Vinci, so for the art and opera lovers this walled medieval town is worth a visit. There are regular Puccini Opera Concerts (sometimes with no entrance fee), grand piazzas to explore, restaurants to try, and tourists can rent bikes and ride through the beautiful cobblestone city or around the city’s impressive walls which date back to the 16th Century.

Since ancient times, growing olives is a main farming activity. In the mid-15th century olive oil was defined as “necessary for man’s well-being.” Lucca’s olive oil is so famous throughout the world that the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as “Lucca Oil,” calling it on a par with Cognac and Champagne.

Itinerary: 5 Days, 4 Nights

Day 1: Benvenuto & Welcome Dinner

• Check in to your luxurious hotel room, relax and meet your hosts.
• Enjoy your Cooking Vacations’ Welcome Bag with Prosecco.
• Welcome Dinner including a Chef’s Tasting Menu with traditional Tuscan fare.  Two bottles of the property’s prized wine is included.
• After dinner, enjoy Vin Santo as you discuss your itinerary for the week.

Day 2: Barga Tour and Shop With The Chef & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• 1 hour Tour of Barga with guide and coffee stop at one of the old town’s artisan cafés.
• Shop With The Chef market visit to learn about fruits and vegetables in season and pick fresh produce for the day’s lesson.
• Return to the Villa for your Introduction and brief history of Italian and local cuisine.
• Cooking Class 1!  In the afternoon, you will prepare two dishes: an antipasto and primo (first course), and learn typical garnishes for each recipe.
• Dinner is served in the villa or on the villa’s spacious terrace of the foods prepared in class. Wine is not included but can be chosen from the extensive selection in the property’s cellar.

Day 3:  Tuscan Wine Tasting Tour!

• Breakfast is served.
• Following breakfast, meet your driver for a visit to one of Lucca’s most interesting wine makers.  Visit the vineyard, cantina and wine shop.  Our English-speaking host shares the secrets of growing, bottling and aging using organic farming.  Following the wine tour, enjoy a tasting with Tuscan cheese, prosciutto, salumi and bread with wine included.
• Following the tour, return to the property with the driver.
• Evening is free and dinner is on your own. Suggestions are provided.

Day 4: Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, shop with the Chef at Barga’s local produce market to buy fresh ingredients for the afternoon’s cooking class.
• You can opt to shop for a picnic lunch of artisan bread, cheese, prosciutto and salumi and a Tuscan bottle of wine for a light lunch to be enjoyed back at the villa.
• In the afternoon, it is aprons on for your Cooking Class 2 where you will prepare two dishes: a secondo, main dish, and contorno, vegetable, whether it be meat, fish or vegetarian. Informal discussion included on garnishing and traditional presentation.
• Dinner follows and includes the food prepared in the cooking class. Wine is not included but can be chosen from the extensive selection in the property’s cellar.

Day 5: Arrivederci!

• Breakfast is served.
• Check Out, goodbyes and Bea’s Goodbye Gift!
• Arrivederci and have a safe journey!

Special Cooking Courses:
Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter Menus

Leading up to everyone’s favorite time of year, Christmas, where most people like to live by the philosophy of ‘eat, drink and be merry’, the Villa offers special cooking courses of either 4 days or a week, which focus on how to cook a traditional Italian Christmas Menu so you can spice up your season’s festivities at home.

Christmas Menu Sample

• Antipasto (bruschetta, crostini alla Toscana, prosciutto)
• Tortellini in Brodo (stuffed pasta in homemade broth) or Lasagne
• Bollito & Salsa Verde (Beef with green sauce)
• Arista (Roast meat)
• Sformato, insalata, Patate Arroste (Pie, Salad & Roast Potatoes)
• Panforte or Panettone (Traditonal Tuscan Dessert)
• Vin Santo

We also provide cooking classes to celebrate San Valentino, Valentine’s Day. Couples tie on their aprons to learn to a special Valentine’s menu in the land of love. Enjoy a romantic lunch or dinner following, just for the two of you.

Easter Menu classes are also offered: this is the time of year for the Garfagnana’s celebrated dessert Pasimata, a type of sweetbread made with aniseed and currants.