Like Perugia and like Spoleto and like probably many other small towns throughout Italy, Lucca hosts a summer music festival complete with big name artists. This summer, some of the names that Lucca is or has already hosted includes Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Arcade Fire, Ben Harper, and James Blunt. Timing worked out that we are able to watch J. Blunt. The concert was fun, the music singable, and the crowd energized, but equally impressive to all of that is the setting. Located in the heart of the old town in Piazza Napoleone, this festival transforms a piazza in a town that used to be a Roman colony in 180 BC into a modern theater. Blunt’s song “You’re Beautiful” should be directed at the town, at the piazza, and at the entire surreal setting.
