Reflections on moving to Barga

It was suggested to me that it might be worth jotting down some reflections on the experience. I should first explain that we haven’t moved in the sense of uprooting ourselves from England: we still have a house there and a lot of our life revolves around English commitments. So we’ve burned no bridges. But we were clear when we bought a flat here that we didn’t want it to be just for holidays: we wanted to feel at home here, and to use it fully. Many of the houses in the English village we live in are owned by weekenders, with the result that it has lost a lot of its vitality; and we wanted to avoid contributing to a similar effect in Barga. We are of course in a very privileged position, being able to afford to do that and both having retired from work; but how did all this come about in the first place?

There were two triggers: Vivaldi and a very good friend who has since sadly died. I’m a huge enthusiast for Vivaldi operas, and was of course thrilled to discover the existence of the opera festival here which has done such brilliant work in getting these operas performed. And when we were talking to our friend about Barga she said that she had always wanted to come here, and asked us to report back. We came, we saw and we were conquered. By the outstanding beauty and serenity of the mountains and forests; by the theatricality of the city itself; by its active cultural life, which has attracted so many talented artists and performers of different kinds to give it a continuing vitality; by the fact that it has all the facilities that anyone could want, including shops of all kinds and excellent restaurants, without being dominated by tourism like places such as San Gimignano or Montepulciano; and, by no means least, by the friendliness of people here.

Two years on we still think Barga is a magical place. We’ve done lots of mountain walks, and got huge pleasure from the natural beauty and solitude to be found. And there’s still lots to discover! We learnt fairly quickly that the footpath maps are more of an approximation than we expected, having been spoiled by Ordnance Survey maps; but we’re now used to that.

One of the nice things about Barga is that one can be as Italian or English as one wants. I have to confess that we’ve failed to get on top of the language; but locals will try to help you out if you make an effort to speak Italian. And they seem to me very genuine, honourable and not upset by the fact that there are so many expats here. I may be wrong about this; but the impression I have is that they are ready to welcome people who appreciate Barga and want to participate in its life.

I like the civility that permeates the place: for example the way in which someone coming into the bank will say buon giorno to everyone already there. That sort of thing doesn’t really happen any more in England, and it just all helps to engender a sense of community.

There’s a whole range of sensations and impressions that give continuing pleasure, whether it’s the artistic displays of fruit in the greengrocers or the way in which the old boys drop into the barber’s for a natter.

Perfection doesn’t exist; but there’s really not a lot to fault here. OK so it’s all a bit noisy and crowded in August; but it’s the same thing in England, and a small price to pay for being lucky enough to live in a beautiful place that people want to visit. How to get the tourism balance right and avoid the San Gimignano syndrome seems to me a really tough problem; but I’ve seen nothing yet to provide any cause for concern.

In fact we have decided to go one step further, and are in the process of buying a rustico up in the mountains, together with a chunk of chestnut forest. It used to be a chestnut farm; and while it’s not feasible to resume cultivation we will be restoring the house itself and putting everything in order. We like to think that this isn’t just about living somewhere with wonderful scenery and tranquillity, but is also about keeping a bit of the heritage going as best we can. It’s a bit sad to see how many buildings up in the mountains have now been reduced to ruins and the land gone wild.  - article by Orlando -

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One Response to “Reflections on moving to Barga”

Comments

1. john Sep 25 2007 / 10pm

   My first encounter with Barga was on a package holiday with my wife several years ago before the Teatro dei differenti had reopened. On my second brief visit, whilst passing through, encountered man wearing “Opera Barga” tee shirt. Opening of Festival was imminent but man in tee shirt (Keane) kindly allowed my wife and I a brief tour of the opera house.
   I was hooked and have made four further visits with the highlights being Arsilda and Tito Manlio which were both performed and recorded in Barga.
   So many other happy memories of this wonderful place. How I envy you living there.

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