MLF TuscanTours

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MLF TuscanTours Mlf are the i itials of my name and I am a freelance Tour Guide and Tour Leader based in Lucca. Looking forward to showing you round Tuscany!

http://www.mlftuscantours.com I offer private and organized tours all around Tuscany. Through these tours you will get to know the art, history, culture and lifestyle with a true local and a friend, who will do her best to make you feel at home!

06/04/2020

With Covid-19 forcing the temporary closure of museums, the Uffizi Galleries launch a new social media campaign to bring art into people's homes.

01/03/2020

Da domenica (1 marzo) sarà possibile visitare il parco e la dimora napoleonica dopo il restauro

19/01/2020
Evviva i Comix!!!
29/10/2019

Evviva i Comix!!!

Comics 1978
Photo Alcide

26/09/2019

Una grotta che non è una grotta, ma che vi spia con occhi di pietra. Un lago che sembra un mare. Un percorso tra profumi e edifici particolari. Tutto questo, e molto altro, è Villa Reale Marlia in pro

11/09/2019

Today in 1944
An M4 Sherman tank and M10 Tank Destroyer on their way to the frontline passing the famed leaning tower in Pisa, Italy on 6 September 1944

Completed in 1372, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. During World War II, the town found itself under German control. The Tower was used as an observation post.

When the Americans neared the outskirts of Pisa, the last two-and-a-half mile stretch was nothing less than a killing zone. The top brass wanted to know how the Germans were using the famous building and decided to send someone to scout it.

Staff Sgt. Leon Weckstein of the 91st Infantry Division had remarkable powers of observation and would spend 16 hours a day manning forward observation posts and directed artillery and mortar fire. He became their guy.

“I really did have unusual powers of observation, particularly a latent aptitude for discerning a camouflaged Panzer tank or a dug-in machine gun position before anyone else could,” Weckstein later said. The tower’s fate laid in the eyes of a 23-year-old California native who, in 1942, was rejected by the Navy for being short-sighted. The infantry accepted him but, then again, “they take anyone,” he remarked.

Weckstein and his radioman, Tech. Sgt. Charles King, were informed of their new mission. It would be dangerous as they entered a no-man-zone between the American and German forces. If enemies were indeed using the tower, Weckstein had to radio in – “This is Able George Two… Fire!” – and Allied forces would have leveled the tower in seconds.

After smearing mud on their faces, King strapped on his bulky field radio while Weckstein grabbed his telescope and ventured into unexplored open fields and orchards.
Weckstein was methodical in his observations. “I focused first on the highest point, the broad circular campanile of the tower. I could easily make out the shadowy silhouette of the old bells, quiet now, but nothing moved. I took my time training the ‘scope ever so slowly up, down, and across each elaborately ornamented balustrade, attempting to discern anything that might be hidden within those black recesses and arches.”
For those few minutes, he had the power to decide the fate of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. By radioing in “fire” one of the world’s ‘wonders’ would, in Weckstein’s words, “have easily turned . . . to chunks of splintered marble.” As he sat there and took in the tower’s beauty, he was overcome and held off calling it in until he was certain.

Weckstein was still transfixed when shells burst overhead. The Germans had launched an airborne attack in Weckstein and King’s directions. They radioed back and were told to retreat back to camp. The top brass had already decided on different attack plan and the tower was spared. Whether the Germans were actually in the tower on that hot and muggy July day is still unknown. Looking back Weckstein stated: “You know something? I’ve had 50 years to think about it, and I’m pretty sure they were.”

Because of his actions during World War II, Weckstein was awarded many American and foreign awards including the highly esteemed Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Infantry Blue Rifle Badge, Italy’s Croce al Valor Militare, Poland’s Bronze Cross of Merit with Swords and the city of Pisa’s Silver Medallion. After the war, he and his wife Mimi visited Italy a few times and Weckstein returned to that pivotal spot he was at in 1944. “I could easily have been looking at shattered marble ruins … if not for an act of fate,”

Photograph. 'MM-5-44-10268'; 'Signal Corps Radio Telephoto
Colour: Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Caption: historybyzim.com/2013/07/leaning-tower-of-pisa-wwii/

07/09/2019

Alla scoperta della cinta muraria cittadina e della leggenda di Lucida Mansi

06/09/2019

Torna a Lucca il fenomeno editoriale nato nella community dell’Horticultural System italiano, l’affascinante mondo che ruota intorno ai giardini storici, al gardening e ai coloratissimi flower show

25/08/2019

Un prezioso anche nei dettagli è quello che caratterizza gli appena aperti di : qui un particolare dell’ ottocentesca con vista sul seicentesco... vi aspettiamo tutti i gironi dalle 10 in poi (ultimo ingresso consigliato ore 16) per un tuffo tra presente e passato semplicemente meraviglioso!
Foto: PgMedia.it

16/08/2019

Recensione della mostra “Moses Levy. ‘Ritornerà sul mare la dolcezza’”, a Viareggio, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, dal 3 febbraio al 15 settembre 2019.

14/08/2019

CS Apertura prime stanze restaurate di Villa Reale: da lunedì 05 agosto è possibile entrare anche dentro Villa Reale!!!

09/08/2019

LUCCA - La città di Lucca è stata inserita dal prestigioso New York Times tra le sei città europee che meritano di essere visitate al di fuori dei più conosciuti e affollati circuiti turistici

06/08/2019
Lucca is the best! ❤️
21/06/2019

Lucca is the best! ❤️

Daytrippers, cruise ships, home-sharing, cheap airlines: They all contribute to tourism saturation in European hotspots. But there are quieter alternatives, if you know where to look.

22/05/2019

Sono le opere dello scultore Andrea Roggi in un percorso tra Lucca e Pietrasanta. La mostra prenderà il via il 12 giugno con un vernissage aperto al pubblico

Villa Reale di Marlia
25/04/2019

Villa Reale di Marlia

25/04/2019

Fiera di Santa Zita, si parte: 5 giorni di festa dedicati alla Santa Patrona di Lucca Mostra mercato dei fiori in Anfiteatro, dolciumi, giardini in centro storico e visite guidate: ecco il programma Torna a partire da domani (mercoledì) e fino a domenica prossima 28 aprile il tradizionalissimo appu...

23/04/2019

Mostra mercato dei fiori in Anfiteatro, dolciumi, giardini in centro storico e visite guidate con un Cicerone d'eccezione: il sindaco Alessandro Tambe...

12/04/2019

Il Dessert Versilia si arricchisce di un nuovo gusto. Dopo un intero inverno di test, prove e sperimentazioni, nasce finalmente una nuova variante dell'ormai rinomato Dessert Versilia

09/04/2019

at the in the park of : must see in !

21/03/2019

LUCCA - Riapre al pubblico, come da tradizione nel primo giorno di primavera, l'Orto Botanico di Lucca, pronto a svelare ai visitatori bellezze floreali, rarità botaniche, piante alimentari o utilizzate dall'uomo per produrre tessuti, colori o medicinali.

14/03/2019

Conto alla rovescia per l'apertura della ### Mostra Antiche Camelie della Lucchesia che si svolgerà nel Borgo delle Camelie a Sant'Andrea e Pieve di Compito nei fine settimana 16-17 marzo, 23-24 marzo, 30-31 marzo, 6-7 aprile

05/03/2019

Quando pensiamo al Carnevale, ci vengono subito in mente allegria, coriandoli e maschere, una festa per grandi e piccini.

27/02/2019

Dal 5 al 10 marzo arriva la ’Settimana dei Musei’: musei statali aperti gratuitamente per tutti, tutta la settimana.

27/02/2019

Negli spazi appena restaurati della Cavallerizza, la nuova attesissima edizione del “Museo della Follia” fino al 18 agosto

15/12/2018

Scopri con noi l'Acquedotto del Nottolini a Lucca. Cosa vedere e cosa fare durante la visita dell'attrazione. Contattaci: [email protected]

18/11/2018

Perché visitare Lucca con una guida locale certificata? Questa è la domanda che spesso ci chiediamo quando ci troviamo in una nuova città...

18/10/2018

Il Buccellato, che potremmo anche definire "il dolce dei poveri", è un dolce della tradizione Lucchese. Scopri di più su Welcome 2 Lucca!

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