Barga, the most Scottish town in Italy

Barga was the first of many side trips we took during our stay in the Garfagnana region. With CZ's lessons in the middle of the day, it was a little tricky taking these trips, but we managed to get some in anyway. One reason we could do so was that the whole region is dotted with little paese, some of them less than thirty minutes from Castelnuovo. Barga was one of these towns.

I really don't think it's possible to do justice to an Italian hilltown with photographs. The experience is very three-dimensional, like being in a serendipitous sort of maze. Narrow alleyways open up unexpectedly into little piazzas (or big ones). You walk past another alleyway, happening to turn your head, and notice windows high above an archway. Some of the alleyways, or for that matter, some of the main streets, are stepped--you dip and climb. Finally you reach the highest point (where there is often a church), and you're looking at red rooftops, belltowers, and swifts all around, surrounded by more distant green valleys below.

Italian towns are very Pattern Language.

At the top of Barga was the Duomo (cathedral) which was begun in the 11th C. and renovated many times thereafter. Since we went to Barga on a Sunday morning, we wanted to worship in some way but couldn't take communion, so we stood at the back of the church and listened to the service. This was easy enough because the worshipers were on a raised platform and we weren't distracting them by standing down below. We couldn't understand every word, but we could clearly hear the priest proclaiming the gospel in his homily.

Also, we noticed on the back of our map of the town that Barga bills itself as "The most Scottish town in Italy." At first we thought it was just a sister city designation, but eventually we found out from Sr. Bertolani that there was a deep and lasting link. Several generations back, a group of men from Barga emigrated to Scotland to do heavy labor, thus establishing a connection between the Garfagnana and Scotland that exists to this day, with people emigrating and visiting back and forth. We even became friends with two of these Scottish Italians on our trip.

More paese coming up...