Barga

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This article is about city in Italy. For the landscape in Inner Mongolia/Manchuria, see Hulunbuir.
Comune di Barga
Coat of arms of Comune di Barga
Municipal coat of arms

Location of Barga in Italy
Country Flag of Italy Italy
Region Tuscany
Province Lucca (LU)
Mayor Umberto Sereni (since 1999)
Elevation 410 m (1,345 ft)
Area 66 km² (25 sq mi)
Population (as of December 31, 2004)
 - Total 10,038
 - Density 152/km² (394/sq mi)
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates 44°04′30″N, 10°28′54″E
Gentilic Barghigiani
Dialing code 0583
Postal code 55051
Frazioni Sommocolonia, Filecchio, Fornaci di Barga, Mologno, Ponte all'Ania, Tiglio, Renaio
Patron St. Christopher
 - Day July 25
Website: www.comune.barga.lu.it

Barga is a medieval town and comune of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10,000 people and is the chief town of the "Media Valle" (mid valley) of the Serchio.

View of Barga.
View of Barga.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Barga lies 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of the provincial capital, Lucca. It is overlooked by the village of Albiano, a località of Barga, which in the 10th century was the site of a castle protecting the town.

Pania della Croce, a mountain of the Apuan Alps, dominates the surrounding chestnut trees, grape vines and olive groves.

[edit] History

Founded by the Lombards, the city grew as a castle surrounded by a line of walls, of which two gates (Porta Reale and Porta Macchiaia) have survived. The town was well known during the Middle Ages for the manufacture of silk threads which were exported to major centres such as Florence, its mills powered by the hydraulic power of the nearby creeks. In the Middle Ages, Lucca and Pisa battled frequently to conquer the wealthy town and the surrounding territory, and for a time Barga was part of the Florentine dominion, later Duchy and Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1847 it became part of the Duchy of Lucca, maintaining a certain degree of autonomy, until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Between 1331 and 1859 Albiano owed its allegiance to the Florentine State.[citation needed] The region was part of the Gothic Line in World War II, and was the scene of fierce fighting between the Allies and Germans from October 1944 until April 1945.

[edit] Culture

The main sights include :

  • The Duomo (cathedral) (11th-16th centuries), the main example of Romanesque art in the Serchio Valley. Of the original church, built in local limestone, parts of the façade remain. The interior has a nave and two aisles. It houses a great (3.5 m) wooden statue of St. Christopher, patron of the city. Also noteworthy is the pulpit (12th century), designed by Guido Bigarelli da Como, with four red marble columns resting on lion sculptures. The campanile contains three bells, the oldest of which dates to the 16th century.
  • The church of the St. Crucifix, the most ancient of the city, rebuilt in the 15th century.
  • The Baroque church of SS. Annunziata (1595).
  • The fraction of Sommocolonia has an interesting Rocca (castle).

There is an annual international opera festival, called "Opera Barga Festival", and a long running and very successful jazz festival, "Bargajazz". Recently, Barga has become the home of many painters, including John Bellany who exhibit their work in some of the small galleries within the castle walls. Barga is often known as "The Most Scottish Town in Italy" due to the thousands of emigrants who left this area in the last century during the famine to start a new life in Scotland. Many made their fortunes in the fish and chips and ice cream businesses and return each summer to their home city.

The "Sagra" is a feature of Tuscan rural culture; communal meals for several hundred people, eaten in the open air, often in orchards, vineyards or sports grounds. Originally religious celebrations, they are now often used to raise funds for local causes. Each town and village will have its own peculiar sagra: Around Barga from July to September it is possible to participate in a Sagra every night. In Barga itself there is the "Cena in Vignola" in the vineyard below the Duomo, and in August the "Sagra delle pesce e Patate" (Fish and Chips) in celebration of the Barga/Scottish connection. At nearby San Pietro in Campo, there is the "Sagra del Maiale" (Pork) and at Filecchio the "Sagra della Polenta e Ucelli" (originally small wild birds, now pheasant)

The Italian Touring Club has recently assigned the "orange flag" of the "Migliori borghi d'Italia" ("Best Villages of Italy"), a distinguished sign recognizing the peculiarity of its beauty and of its quality. There is limited hotel accommodation in Barga: See "Barga Hotels" (http://www.casa-fontana.com/Barga_Hotels.htm); At present there are no hotels within the walled historic centre, although there is one Bed and Breakfast, Casa Fontana. Barga has also been, since 1999, the home of the "European Gnome Sanctuary" run by the Garden Gnome Liberation Front.

Barga is the home town of the family of Paolo Nutini (born 9 January 1987) the Scottish singer/songwriter. On 24 July 2007, Paolo was awarded The Golden St. Christopher medal, the highest honour the city can give, to celebrate his extraordinary contributions to Barga and its people.

The frazione of Castelvecchio Pascoli was home to one of Italy's most inspirational 19th Century poets, Giovanni Pascoli.

At the other end of the scale, Barga is also the birthplace of Silvano Togneri, died in August, 2006, longtime practitioner of outsider music.

The area is a champion of Slow Food. The area is popular with hillwalkers, hunters and mushroom pickers.

Many of the residents of the area can trace their relatives to those that emigrated, especially to the Americas, Scotland and Australia. For some, they have come full circle as they have returned to retire here.

The town of Barga is twinned with the village of Prestonpans in Scotland.

[edit] Sport

It was playing for Barga's football team, that the only Scottish-born player ever to play for Italy was scouted by a Serie A club. Giovanni "Johnny" Moscardini was born in Falkirk to Italian parents in 1897, and fought for Italy in WWI. After the war, Lucchese signed him from Barga, and he went on to play for Pisa, and Genoa, as well as the Italian national team. BBC Online News Story about Moscardini short film of mounting Johnny Moscardi's photograph outside the stadium

In 1991, the local sport center named "Il Ciocco" hosted the second edition of UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships.

[edit] External links


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