During New Year’s Eve the skies around Lucca Villa Rental are literally alight with Fireworks coming from all different directions the position of La Collina del Sole is exceptional as it has one of the most commanding views of Villas for rent in Tuscany and allows you to survey the valley below as every house party attendee, formal dinner guest and restaurant reveller let off thousands of fireworks of every description. A bonus when you rent a villa in Tuscany is to partake of the joys of life in the region and as many Italians visit their country cousins in the area of villa rental in Tuscany you get to really live the Italian Dolce Vita when you stay at Holiday villas in Lucca Apart from the riotous firework displays another particular custom in the remote parts of Italy on the 5th of Janaury is the visit by a Befana an old lady who walks from house to house in a village where children can be found if they have been good she gives them sweet and toys if they have been naughty she gives them a lump of coal, you can still find “lumps of coal” in provincial sweet shops that are made with spun sugar. Traditionally each home offers the befana and the befano if she is accompanied by her husband a tot of homemade grappa and some homemade biscotti called Befanini , plain sweet biscuits specially decorated for the occasion. Barga a beautiful town near La Collina del Sole is well known for its Befanini di Barga some have 100’s & 1000’s sugar topping others have icing sugar. Barga very close to Lucca Villa rental also plays host to the House of the Befana or casa della Befana where children post their requests through the letter box. Rather like posting requests to Father Christmas! At this time the household might also produce special homemade juices like RASPBERRY or BLUEBERRY JUICE for the children who accompany the befana or indeed for the Befana herself if she is a little worse for wear after visiting many homes. To make these juices, you clean the blueberries, or raspberries and put them in a pot with some water on a low flame long enough to soften them, then pass all the softened fruit through a fine mesh sieve and drain the juice, mix it with sugar according to taste no more than 300 grams per litre of juice. This recipe can be used with any berry or fruit.