Bagni di Lucca was very popular with English visitors in the early to mid 1800s. There was a walkway along the river where couples liked to stroll in the evening. One of these couples was Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, who visited Bagni di Lucca in 1849, 1853 and 1857.
Recently part of the riverside walk has been brought back to life and dedicated to this poetic pair.
the walkway in winter
looking towards the bridge
spring comes to lovers walk
the bridge in La Villa
the walkway
the Lima river from the path
flowers growing in the wall
take the time to walk along the path
Look for the sign on the way to La Villa, near Conad ( supermarket).
look for the sign
I have walked there Debra. I loved it!
Big hug!
By: Rosaly Palma Torvnes on April 21, 2011
at 1:04 pm
Next time – not too far away.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 1:22 pm
Beautiful place for a quiet moment.
Since you seem to know your plants, can you help with identifying this flower? See: http://wp.me/p1lXb4-1V
By: lisa@notesfromafrica on April 21, 2011
at 1:33 pm
It looks a bit like a clematis, but I don’t know about the spikes.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 2:24 pm
Thanks for taking a look. That was one of my possibles too, but the spikes don’t fit.
By: lisa@notesfromafrica on April 21, 2011
at 2:36 pm
Yes, I remember that walk-way but didn’t realise it was called Lovers’ Walk. I thought it was a pretty walk. There were some little nooks and crannies to explore. I can imagine the Barret-Brownings falling under the spell of this beautiful place. You’ve caught the sparkle of the river and the jaunty little daisies.
By: Sandra H on April 21, 2011
at 1:46 pm
I try to walk there as often as I can. It needs a bit of attention, but hopefully more people will use it coming into summer.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 2:23 pm
I’m always interested in the cultural connections. Puccini is associated with Bagni di Lucca too, I believe, and was Byron ever there? I know he was in Pisa for a while.
By: Richard Tulloch on April 21, 2011
at 1:51 pm
Puccini was born in Lucca. I had lunch today in the little Piazza near the house where he was born. He played at the theatre in Bagni di Lucca and probably the casino. Byron and Shelley were both in Bagni di Lucca at some stage. It was quite popular in its heyday.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 2:22 pm
What a delightful place! I’ll certainly include this place on my next trip in september…
By: Leandro on April 21, 2011
at 3:26 pm
You should, it is lovely to walk beside the river.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 7:41 pm
Delightful… that’s a good word for this!
By: maru on April 21, 2011
at 6:31 pm
It is a good name I think.
By: bagnidilucca on April 21, 2011
at 7:40 pm
When your with that someone special everywhere in Bagni di Lucca is lovers walk
By: Mike Prosperi on April 22, 2011
at 12:18 am
That’s true, just walking through the lovely old trees in the mountains is pretty good.
By: bagnidilucca on April 22, 2011
at 4:59 am
I think that flower is ‘Love in a Mist’ or ‘Nigella’. What a lovely word ‘passegiata’ is – I take it to mean rather more ‘stroll’ than don your lycra athletic-type outfit and joggers and hoof it. Strolling gives one time to reflect and meditate – there should be more of it.
By: Jan on April 21, 2011
at 11:36 pm
It is strolling with a view to seeing and being seen – preferrably not in lycra. Thanks for the flower tip. I will pass it on.
By: bagnidilucca on April 22, 2011
at 5:00 am
Beautiful, no wonder its a lovers walk 🙂
By: Anna Johnston on April 22, 2011
at 6:25 am
Not too many people use just yet. I’m sure it will be busy in summer.
By: bagnidilucca on April 22, 2011
at 6:35 am
Oh it does look so terribly romantic, Deb!!
By: Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial on April 22, 2011
at 8:07 am
It is lovely to walk beside the river in any season, but particularly now in spring.
By: bagnidilucca on April 22, 2011
at 3:42 pm
Now that looks like a great place to walk on a summers evening after a nice meal to help the food go down and come back the next morning with a fly rod to catch some fresh trout for lunch. Hmmmmm the fly rod is comming with me I tell you and so are the walking shoes as I can see I will be doing a lot of walking there in the future. Only 3 weeks to go……
By: paul stoker on April 22, 2011
at 10:00 pm
There are trout in the river. You need a permit to catch the fish, but I don’t think it is hard to get one. There are lots of great places to walk here.
By: bagnidilucca on April 23, 2011
at 5:19 am
[…] to Lucca or some of the surrounding mountain villages. If you don’t want to go that far, the Lovers’ Walk along the river at La Villa is delightful. There used to be a walking path all the way from La Villa […]
By: My first guest blog « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on January 19, 2012
at 5:05 am
Bagni di Lucca is a place of dreams. About six years ago we drove across the Lima River into Bagni di Lucca and stopped for a delightful riverside lunch at Vaniccio’s. We fell utterly in love with Bagni di Lucca and ended up buying an old farm cottage in one of the many quaint surrounding mountain villages. We now stay there for three glorious, peaceful and adventurous months every year.
By: CherfromSydney on January 26, 2012
at 8:14 pm
Perhaps I will see you there this year.
By: Debra Kolkka on January 26, 2012
at 9:54 pm
[…] a river walk along the Lima was dedicated to them. It’s nicely described in Debra’s post at http://bagnidilucca.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/lovers-walk/ and at […]
By: Not Browned Off | From London to Longoio (and Lucca and Beyond) Part Two on October 10, 2014
at 8:31 am