One of the workers with the co-operative repairing the 11 metre high main wall just below Porta Macchia risked life and limb yesterday when he accidentally cut through a buried electricity cable. Rubber handles on the machine he was operating, a good pair of heavy work boots and a great deal of luck kept the 380 volts away from his body and the only damage, apart from maybe his pride, was the loss of power to half of Barga Vecchia and parts of the Fornacetta. The cable was repaired, power was restored later in the afternoon and work continued as usual. The centuries old main wall has been bulging dangerously in one or two places recently making a long overdue intervention on the wall essential.

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Any maintenance work in Barga Vecchia is always fraught with difficulties as there are no real plans of just what cables, pipes of wires lies buried beneath the stone streets or behind walls.