Barga (Tuscany)

Barga
Country	Italy
region	Tuscany
province	Lucca (LU)
Coordinates	44 ° 5 ' N , 10 ° 29' E Coordinates: 44 ° 4 '31 " N , 10 ° 28' 54" E
height	410 m slm
surface	66.5 km²
Residents	9,772 (Dec 31, 2019)
Population density	147 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	55051
prefix	0583
ISTAT number	046003
Popular name	Barghigiani
Patron saint	San Cristoforo (July 25th)
Website	Barga
	; The old town of Barga with the campanile

Barga is an Italian municipality with 9772 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the province of Lucca in Tuscany . It is the capital of the central Serchio Valley ( Media Valle del Serchio ). Tourism is an important industry in the city.

Barga is a member of the I borghi più belli d'Italia association (The Most Beautiful Places in Italy).

geography

Location of the municipality of Barga in the province of Lucca

Barga is located in the mountains of the Garfagnana about 25 km north of the provincial capital Lucca and about 70 km northwest of the regional capital Florence . The main river in the municipality is the Serchio, which spends 5 km here. Other important waters in the municipality are the Torrenti Ania (9 of 10 km in the municipality), Corsonna (every 14 km in the municipality) and Loppora (every 6 km in the municipality)

The districts include Albiano, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Filecchio, Fornaci di Barga, Loppia, Mologno, Ponte all'Ania, Renaio, San Pietro in Campo, Sommocolonia and Tiglio.

The neighboring communities are Coreglia Antelminelli , Fosciandora , Gallicano , Molazzana and Pievepelago ( MO )

Culture and sights

View from the southern cathedral square (Duomo di San Cristoforo) to the west into the Apuan Alps

The Barga Cathedral

The old town of Bargas is located on a hill topped by the Romanesque cathedral. Next to the cathedral is the Palazzo Pretorio . It was built in the 14th century and was the official residence of the Florentine administrator of the city, today it is the city museum.

In the 15th century, a water pipe, the Antico Acquedotto di Barga, was built on stone-walled arches to ensure the supply of the fountains in the old town. The aqueduct spans a deep valley cut where the Parco Fratelli Kennedy is now.

In the baroque theater Teatro dei Differenti , built in 1668, an annual opera festival (Opera Barga) takes place, founded in 1967 by the English director Peter Hunt and his wife, the set designer Gillian Armitage . In July it brings out baroque operas that are seldom played or, in modern times, no longer played at all. There is also a jazz festival (Barga Jazz).

In the second half of the 19th century, when Tuscany was going through an economic crisis, the Barghigiani not only went to Northern Italy, North and South America like other Tuscans, but also to Scotland in large numbers . Because of the cultural relationships that have grown historically as a result, Barga is nicknamed "The most Scottish town in Italy" .

Town twinning

The city of Barga has twinning relationships with East Lothian in Scotland , with Hayange in Lorraine and with the Swedish city of Gällivare in Lapland.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the church

Gualtiero Jacopetti (1919–2011), director of documentaries
Renzo Casali (1939–2010), author, theater and film maker
Lorenzo Baldisseri (* 1940), Cardinal of the Curia

Persons connected to Barga

The Romagna-born poet Giovanni Pascoli lived with his sister Mariù near Barga from 1895 to 1912 and is buried here. A museum has been set up in his former home.

literature

Emanuele Repetti: BARGA in Val di Serchio. In: Dizionario Geografico Fisico Storico della Toscana (1833–1846). Online edition of the University of Siena (pdf, ital.)
Touring Club Italiano : Toscana. Milan 2003, ISBN 88-365-2767-1 , p. 213 ff.

Web links

Commons : Barga - collection of images, videos and audio files

Website of the Pro Loco in Barga
BargaNews info site (English & Italian)

Individual evidence

↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
^ I borghi più belli d'Italia. Borghipiubelliditalia.it, accessed August 6, 2017 (Italian).
↑ ^a ^b Official website of the Sistema Informativo Ambientale della Regione Toscana (SIRA) on the rivers in Barga , accessed on July 4, 2015 (Italian)
↑ Italy's little slice of Scotland , BBC News, July 25, 2006, accessed July 4, 2015.
↑ Casa Museo Pascoli , accessed on July 8, 2019 (Italian and English)

[1] Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.

[2] I borghi più belli d'Italia. Borghipiubelliditalia.it, accessed August 6, 2017 (Italian).

[SIRA-3] Official website of the Sistema Informativo Ambientale della Regione Toscana (SIRA) on the rivers in Barga , accessed on July 4, 2015 (Italian)

[4] Italy's little slice of Scotland , BBC News, July 25, 2006, accessed July 4, 2015.

[5] Casa Museo Pascoli , accessed on July 8, 2019 (Italian and English)