Barga (Tuscany)
Barga | ||
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Country | Italy | |
region | Tuscany | |
province | Lucca (LU) | |
Coordinates | 44 ° 5 ' N , 10 ° 29' 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
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
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
- 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)