PIAZZANAPOLEONE
Summer Festival Lucca
Concerts take place in Piazza Napoleone in the centre of town. Tickets from €30 to €100. Francesco Guccini 1 July; Blink 182 4 July; B. Bacharach, M. Biondi 5 July; Zucchero 8 July; Arcade Fire plus very special guest 9 July; Elton John and his band 14 July; Joe Cocker and B.B. King 15 July; Ben Harper plus Robert Randolph and the family band 18 July; Liza Minnelli 19 July; James Blunt 21 July; Enrico Brignano 23 July; Jamiroquai 24 July. Full details on www.summerfestival.com.

PIAZZADELL'ANFITEATRO
Anfiteatro Music Festival 2011
In July, 4 concerts dedicated to Latin-American music.

Pisa celebrates the eve of its patron saint's day.

Buildings along the Arno are illuminated with thousands of candles.

Firework display at end of evening, 16 June.

Palio di San Ranieri The historic contrade – Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Martino and Sant' Antonio compete in a 1,5 km regata on the Arno,17 June.

Gioco del Ponte Battle of the Bridge Armies of heavies from the north (Tramontana) and south (Mezzogiorno) sides of the river clash on the Ponte di Mezzo for a trial of strength on a specially constructed battle cart.

Preceded by a grand procession the evening before. Starts 19.00 on Saturday 25 June.

In 1721 Lucca became involved in what might well have ended up as a serious diplomatic crisis with Great Britain. This was Oil account of James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the deposed Catholic king of England, Scotland and Ireland.James II.

Raised ill exile, James Junior became the "Pretender' to the throne on his father's death ill 1701. Various Catholic monarchs including the then current Pope Clement Xl, recognized his claim but in England this was not the case.

Due to the Act of Settlement passed ill 1701, no Catholic could sit on the throne of England and neither could a monarch marry a Catholic queen. James refused to convert to the Church of England and after all abortive attempt to claim his throne with the support of loyal Catholic Scots in 1715, he was doomed to wander Europe with ever dwindling support In 1720 Charles, the first of his two sons was born.

Charles, popularly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie by his supporters and The Young Pretender by his enemies, was later to land secretly on the beach at Moidart on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides and lead a rebellion that seriously threatened to topple the monarchy of George I. This rebellion was eventually savagely crushed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and, with it, the Stuart cause.
In 1721, James Stuart, afterwards known as the Old Pretender to differentiate him from his son, visited Lucca with his wife Maria Clementine Sobieska from the Polish royal family who called herself the Countess of Cornwall. She wanted to take the waters in Bagni di Lucca after the birth of her first son.

The oligarchy of Lucca welcomed the couple with open arms, providing them with the then V ilia Buonvisi in Bagni for their use, ordering vendors to supply them with their best wares and sending Senator Spada and his wife to see to their every need.
In September, after leaving Bagni, the couple stayed for a few days in Lucca. Here the lucchesi welcomed them enthusiastically, even recognizing James as the rightful king and addressing the royal pair as "Their Majesties". Their entourage was housed ill Palazzo Mansi (now the art gallery in Via Galli-Tassi) and the royal couple were lavishly wined and dined ill style, with festivities and public speeches. "Their Majesties" even prayed before the Volto Santo in the Cathedral of San Martino at the request of the Chapter of San Martino. More seriously for Lucca, the Pretender's Manifesto, widely circulated in Britain, was born printed in and dated from Lucca.

The news of all this pomp and ceremony inevitably reached the ears of the Honourable John Molesworth (oddly referred to in the archival documents as tbe Honourable Malewort), the British Ambassador to Turin and Florence, whose jurisdiction included Lucca.

He was heard to comment that he would have to complain to the lucchese government about this affront to the honour of the British throne, and be rather laconically mentioned that, of course, under the circumstances, all trade between the United Kingdom and Lucca would have to stop and no more olive oil or Lucchese goods would enter Britain.

This gave the Republic a terrible fright: immediately there were groveling apologies and excuses as the government scrambled to salvage its trading rights. It seems though, that Molesworth was a bit of a joker who was having some fun at Lucca's expense.

The crisis passed and trade continued with Britain as before, witbout a hitch.
An interesting example cilucchese priorities!

Article from Grapevine

PISA

Luminara di San Ranieri
Pisa celebrates the eve of its patron saint's day. Buildings along the Arno are illumi- nated with thousands of candles. Firework display at end of evening, 16 June.
Palio di San Ranieri The historic contrade – Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Martino and Sant'Antonio compete in a 1,5 km regata on the Arno,17 June.

Gioco del Ponte Battle of the Bridge Armies of heavies from the north (Tramontana) and south (Mezzoguorno) sides of the river clash on the Ponte di Mezzo for a trial of strength on a specially constructed battle cart. Preceded by a grand procession the evening before. Starts 19.00 on Saturday 25 June.

PISA Giugno Pisano A month of events ranging from music, art and photography exhibits, to dance and theatre, children's events, etc. Full details at www.giugnopisano.com
Luminara di San Ranieri Celebration of Pisa's Patron Saint. 16 June, evening. Pisa's buildings are lit with 70,000 candles; can- dles float on the Arno and oil lamps illuminate the Leaning Tower.

Palio di San Ranieri 17 June, 17.00-20.00. 1.5 km regatta on the Arno with 4 historic neighbourhoods (contrade) competing: Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Martino and Sant'Antonio. Tel. Comune di Pisa, 050 910393-506. www.giugnopisa.com.

COMING UP

PISA
ABBAZIA DI SAN ZENO Piazza Santa Caterina. 15 July L'Elisir d'Amore by Donizetti; 23 September Suor Angelica by Puccini. OrfeoInScena company. Tickets €15. Tel. 346 3572180 www.orfeoinscena.com

LAJATICO (Pisa) TEATRO DEL SILENZIO Bravo China with Andrea Bocelli
21 July, 20.15. Tickets: www.fourone.it or www.ticketone.it Pianist Lang Lang, ChinesetenorDaiYuqiang,singerLiuHuan, singer Sarah Brightman, violinist Uto Ughi, ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato, flautist Andrea Griminelli. Lajatico is Bocelli's birthplace.

FLORENCE
MAGGIO MUSICALE FIORENTINO 74th Season. At the Teatro Comunale, Corso Italia 16. Il Lago dei Cigni e lo scandalo di Ciakowski A special production of the bal- let incorporating the private life of Tchaikovsky: Maggio Corps de Ballet, 20.30 on 1,3 and 4 June, and 15.30 on 5 June. Orchestra Giovanile Italia directed by Andrey Boreyko, 20.30 on 7 June. Esa- Pekka Salonen directs the Maggio Orchestra. Music by Zoltan Kodaly, Mussorgsky and Berlioz, 20.30 on 17 June. Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, Roberto Devereux. Mariella Devia (so- prano), 20.30 on 23 June. Gala di Danza 21.30 on 30 June in Piazza della Signoria. Ciclo Lizst 20.30 on 8,9 and 10 June. (This last event in the Piccolo Teatro which is part of the Comunale).

PRATO
PECCI MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Live an exhibition showing the link between contemporary art and rock music from the '60s on. Entrance free. Open 16.00-24.00. Till 7 August.

FIRENZE
UFFIZI GALLERY Figure, memorie, spazio Drawings, sketches and preparatory work from Frà Angelico to Botticelli, Michelangelo to Mantegna. A unique show which ran at the British Museum in 2010. Till 11 June.

FRATELLI ALINARI PHOTOGRAPHIC MUSEUM Piazza S. M. Novella 14a. Controverses An exhibition of controver- sial photos for which the authors were chal- lenged and even taken to court. The exhibi- tion has gone on show in Lausanne, Paris, Brussels and Vienna and is in Florence. Tickets €9. (open 10.00-18.30), till 5 June. (closed Wednesday 1st).

TEATRO SAN GIROLAMO Concerti Aperitivo All concerts start at 11.30 a.m. Tickets €5 on sale at the Giglio Box Office in the morning. Aperitif after con- cert. Full details of each programme on www.teatrodelgiglio.it Haydn, Chopin and Bartok Piano concert, 5 June. Haydn and Debussy Violin, viola and cello Bach Concerto Brandenburg Concerto No.6 Viola and piano, on 12 June. Mendelssohn, L. Bassi, Brahms Piano and clarinet, 19 June. I chitarristi – compositori di nostro secolo (20th century guitar composers) Cordero, Giorgi, Dyens. Piano: Bach, Szymanowski and Prokofiev, 26 June.

CHIESA DI SAN GIOVANNI Puccini Recitals Every evening a different theme. Puccini and Mozart. A Night at the Opera. Puccini and Neapolitan song. Gala Sinfonica, 2 June. Astor Piazzolla, 8 June. All concerts start 19.00. Full details on www.puccinielasualucca.com
BOCCHERINI AUDITORIUM Piazza del Suffragio. BOCCHERINI OPEN 2011 Season. Concerts, conferences and master classes. Alexander Schriabin Lesson and concert 21.00 on 10 June. Piano & violin concert 18.00-21.00 on 25 June.

ORTO BOTANICO Il Canto degli Alberi For the third year running the Comune is organising its highly suc- cessful Friday evening concerts in the per- fect setting of the city's botanical gardens. June features the Boccherini Music School students. Piano concert, 3 June. Chamber mu- sic (wind instruments), 10 June. Jazz Concert, 17 June. Sax and Piano Duo, 24 June. Piano recital with Aldo Dotto, 1 July. All concerts are free and commence at 21.30.

NUOVE TENDENZE Cultural Association Tommaso de Carlo exhibition. At Lodi Bros Antiques, Via S. Croce 65. Vernissage with traditional Argentinian music, 17.00 on 2 June. Open 10.00-20.00 till 5 June. Ensemble Nuova Cappella di Palazzo directed by Jonathan Brandini. Concert at Tenuta lo Scompiglio, Via di Vorno, 17 on 2 and 5 June. Pagine Rare del Seicento Lucchese The lucchese composer Tommaso Breni's music played for the first time ever on the newly restored 16th century organ at the Pieve S. Stefano, 21.00 on 25 June. Giuseppe Palumbo
art exhibition. Palazzo Medici Riccardi Florence. 10.30-18.30 from 28 June till 14 July. At the same location concert by Giulia Peri and Luca Marconato arie e canzoni del seicento voice and theorbo (lute family), 17.30 on 28 June.