There is nothing quite like a great Pizza and when you Rent a villa in Tuscany it is only right that you either learn how to make the best Pizza in town whcih you can do at La Collina del Sole with our Pizza Experience or hunt down a great Pizzeria … or two within striking distance of your Lucca Villa Rental so we thought we might share a few special places near La Collina del Sole the exclusive, award winning salt water infinity pool, Villa within the Holiday villas in Lucca . Pizza tends to be eaten in the evening in traditional parts of Italy, especially near Villas for rent in Tuscany , which means that Pizzerias tend to open only in the evening as the Pizza oven needs to be warmed up a few hours in advance. So a word of advice enjoy the sunshine when you are in your Villa rentals in Tuscany and then venture out in the cool to either learn how to make the best pizza in town or hunt a pizzeria for a delicious wood baked Pizza. Our FAVOURITE is “ Il Centro “ in Via Vallisneri, Piazza delle Erbe, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. their Telephone numbers are 0583 644550 and 0583 66 20 32. Il Centro makes the thinnest wood oven pizza in town, DELICIOUS. This Pizzeria is run by a family, Mamma, Papa and several children, just as well as it is usually very busy. You can eat there or order a take away, best to call ahead as waiting time for take away varies from 20 to over one hour, it opens late afternoon and evening only, closed on Wednesdays year round except in August.

Our other favourite is Pizzeria Clary, situated on the corner of Via O. Dini, by the gelateria Fuori dal centro, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. Their telephone number is 0583 65 198. Clary opens late afternoon and evenings during the week & from noon on Thursdays. Pizzas are GOOD and very reasonable. Pizzas are cooked in a wood oven. The base tomato sauce they make is slightly saltier than in other places. Do try the Bruschetta Pizza and the Vegetable pizza, they are delicious and refreshingly different!

Another great Pizzeria in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is La Credenza, which is very central on Via Farini 2, their telephone 0583 63 9332. This is a Pizzeria and Rosticceria, – with a wood oven, they make the richest of all the Pizzas in town, also delicious roast chickens, beef and pork. Located next to ”Castelli” Supermarket just after Piazza Umberto, which is the main piazza in Castelnuovo. Open late morning through to late evening. They are related to the wonderful cooks from the restaurant in Silico, clearly cooking delicious food runs in the family.

For a smarter if equally delicious Pizza in a restaurant setting then we recommend Il Pozzo in Pieve Fosciana, on Via Europa 2 /A, you have to book their telephone number is 0583 66 63 80. Il Pozzo in Pieve Fosciana is a 20 minute drive from “ La Collina del Sole ” it does great pizza although only for supper. This is also a great restaurant with the best antipasto [mixed starter] dish in the area. Giordano and Maurizio the owners of “Il Pozzo” have formed part of the “Slow Food” movement from its inception, this relates to Good food eaten well rather than food taking forever to come to the table, they are passionate about properly grown and reared food and have won several awards. Usually busy and fairly capacious, they close on Wednesdays apart from August when they open seven days a week.

This week 11 -18 of August encompasses FERAGOSTO which is as important a holiday as Christmas and is the reason why Italy closes down for a couple of weeks every August. Our region literally explodes with Festas so we will concentrate on one only the one in our area, from the 11 to the 16 Fosciandora hosts Ferragosto Insieme or the Sagra dei Cigerani which night after night of feasting on homemade food, dancing to several different orchestras, and being part of Italy.