Halloween as we know it does not exist in Italy so if you are at Lucca villa rental expecting to go trick or treating you are in for a surprise!!! Italians celebrate all hallows day with a church service to commemorate the memory of dead relatives. A beautiful celebration is held at Santuario the local monastery to La Collina del Sole . A really worthwhile “dress up day” to enjoy when you rent a villa in Tuscany is the Carnevale a true highlight during the Italian special dates calendar. During this Italian fun day, people dress up and play practical jokes. The 'Carnevale' is usually in February, as it is held 40 days before Easter, a beautifully cool and crisp time of year to enjoy villa rentals in Tuscany. It is celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Kids dress up, go out and throw confetti and play innocent practical jokes on everyone. In true Italian decadent fashion they celebrate Carnevale for roughly one week. Children in Italy stuff themselves with pumpkin risotto and porcini mushrooms and Castagnole - instead of sugar filled candies – a healthier way to feast.If during your stay at holiday villas in Lucca you would like to learn the darker lore of the area, we found out from our guide when we stayed at La Collina del Sole that you can still find elements of the macabre, the famous Devil’s Bridge is a stone’s throw away from this beautiful villas for rent in Tuscany - Ponte della Maddalena, which translates as the Bridge of Mary Magdalene, is a bridge crossing the Serchio river near the town of Borgo a Mozzano in the Italian province of Lucca. It is more widely known as the Bridge of the Devil as legend has it that the villages on either side of the river made a deal with the devil in order to gain his help to construct the architecturally magnificent stone arch bridge that still stands today despite over 500 years of use, in order to facilitate the crossing of the river which was vital for the continuation of a medieval pilgrimage route. The devil agreed to build the bridge, but in return he asked to take the first soul to cross the bridge back to hell with him. After building the bridge overnight the devil was outwitted by his adversaries, the townspeople threw bread to lure a dog over the bridge first, which was last seen descending into the water, bringing peace to the community. The high arch in the bridge is supposedly due to the devil jumping in rage at being outsmarted by the townsfolk. It takes great wit to outsmart Italians !