Montefegatesi
We spent most of the holiday staying in this small mountain village, reached by climbing a long road with many hairpin bends. The nearest major town, Lucca, is an hour's journey away.
Morning sunshine (and some clouds) from our balcony
Evening sunshine (and still some clouds)
A monument to Dante stands on the highest point in the village; many houses display quotations from his works
Dante's lofty view of the village
To enter the village, vehicles need to be narrow but also strong enough to cope with the gradients
A walk in the woodland below the village
Statue of Garibaldi in the main (and small) square
Bagni di Lucca and river valley
This small town sits at the foot of the descent from Montefegatesi, giving access to other places along a winding river valley.
River and houses at Bagni di Lucca
Crossing the river - the Torrente Lima - at Ponte a Serraglio
The small river joins the much larger Serchio before passing under the elegant Ponte della Maddalena
Lucca
We visited Lucca several times, especially to use a convenient supermarket but also to admire its ancient and recent history.
Lucca's most famous son, Giacomo Puccini, with his birthplace - now a museum - behind
The piano on which Puccini composed many of his operas
The nearby cafés unashamedly cash in on Puccini's legacy
Walls near the centre contain brickwork from many eras, even back to Roman times
Jesus and the apostles depicted on the end wall of Basilica San Frediani
Pisa
More than a tower: the baptistery (foreground) and cathedral form part of a tourist-packed complex
The tower at maximum tilt
The neighbouring cemetery commemorates famous figures including the mathematician Fibonacci
Tourist's eye view of the cathedral, taken from the gallery of the baptistery
I've no idea why a weighing machine has been left in this street
Rome
We ended our holiday with a couple of days in the "Eternal City" - well, it has been going for a couple of thousand years.
The Colosseum: the crowds of tourists are tolerant of its "unfinished" look
The neighbouring archeological park gives good views of Imperial Rome
The archeological park includes remains of palaces and sporting arenas
A quiet spot in the archeological park
One of the many galleries in the Musei Vaticani: they certainly know how to do ceilings