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Comics & Games storm Lucca for two weeks Stripped & Teased
[Pietro Salvadori]
Lucca is a delightful postcard-town less than one hour's drive from Florence, and quite deservedly considered one of the more pictoresque and best preserved Tuscan cities. Enclosed in its astonishingly intact 16th C. ring of walls whose top is large enough to house a large promenade complete with plane trees and decorative gardens, the old city center has a myriad churches of all sizes and shapes and the characteristic oval-shaped Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, whose buildings mark the shape of the old Roman theatre. It goes without saying that if you haven't already been there, Lucca is one of the destinations you should definitely put at the top of your list when planning your next day out, and autumn is certainly the golden season a visit.From 5th to 7th September the city walls will be laden with flowers for Murabilia, an amateur gardening show, and for the whole month the "Settembre Lucchese" provides a variety of events. Better still: if you make sure to make your visit fall between October 18th and November 2nd, you will also have the opportunity to witness a very different kind of colorful happening: for two weeks every year this cheerful and pictoresque old-time paradise turns into the European capital of Comic art, hosting a huge number of attractions scattered all over the city center - conferences, exhibitions and trade-fairs - concerning not just comic books and cartooning, but also role play games, animation, modelism and multimedia art.
The event - known as Lucca Comics & Games - is unstoppably growing in size and fame since 1966. This year it celebrates the tenth anniversary of its "Games" branch - which mainly involves introducing, organizing and sponsoring role play games - with an exhibition on the Dragonlance fantasy saga boasting the presence of Tracy Hickmann, one of its creators. Thanks to the Games fair the city, during this period, breathes a funny but evocative atmosphere, and in fact it is not unusual to meet - even in the center or on the city walls - groups of young people dressed in Medieval costume, brandishing polystyrene swords, masked with fake druidic beards or acting like jugglers. Of course you can join the craze or just walk around and enjoy the unusual scenario it brings to life.
The "Comics" branch of the event, wider and better established, offers a busy program with the monographic exhibition of Emanuele Luzzati, a leading Italian illustrator of the 19th C. with a lifetime's drawings and samples from his elegant animations; there will also be a workshop on cartoon scripting held by the famous scriptwriter Jean Van Hamme, and several thematic exhibition about romance stories, japanese manga and a tasty insight into the relationship between food and comics. This year's poster for the event features a drawing by Argentinian artist Ciruelo Cabral with a flying dragon attacking the tree topped Guinigi Tower, one of the most famous sights of the city.
Lucca Comics & Games ends triumphally with a huge trade fair held from October 31st until November 2nd in the big Palasport located outside the city walls, while the exhibitions and cultural happenings will start on October 18th.
Lucca Comics info: 0583.48522 and www.luccacomics.com
Tourist info: 0583.91991 and www.lucca.turismo.toscana.it
How to get there:
by car - A11 motorway towards Pisa Nord and exit at Lucca Est
by train - Lucca is regularly linked to Florence S.M.N. station; the railway station is located five minutes' walk from the city walls and historic center. During the days of the Fair, a special bus service will run between the staion and the Palasport
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http://www.luccacomics.com
http://www.lucca.turismo.toscana.it