Exactly one year ago this week we published an article (here) bemoaning the fact that it was impossible to get a coffee in Barga Vecchia on a Wednesday. In fact we published the same kind of article in 2008 as well (here) so it’s not a new phenomenon but has been documented for at least three years. This morning we set out the trusty award winning photographer O’Connor to see if maybe, just maybe, things were different this year. As you can see from the images which he brought back to the office, nothing has changed, it’s still non-business as usual. In fact we could quite happily use the same text that we published 12 months ago to describe today’s non action. Here is that text from 2009 :
Wednesday is gradually becoming a black letter day for residents and visitors to Barga Vecchia who would like to have a coffee at some point during the day. In the height of the summer season, it is not really a problem finding a place to sit down and eat or enjoy a drink but during the winter months it can get slightly more difficult.
November now seem to be the worst month of the year for services as many places shut for a well earned rest after the long summer season.
The bar outside the main gates run by Paolo Gas, which is famous being, more or less always open and the last to close, is shut for their annual holidays. Inside the walls, the Altana is shut on a Wednesday, so too inexplicably just further down the road, is the Gelateria, so no coffee there either.
Piazza Angelio, which has been a hive of activity right through the summer from Easter onwards, is now almost deserted as Riccardo from L’Osteria has shut up shop and gone off to holiday in sunnier climes.He will be back the first week in December.
In Piazza Salvo Salvi the situation is no better with Capretz shut as Beppe and Laura take a well earned rest apparently on a cruise ship around the Mediterranean sea and the unofficial cultural centre of Barga – Aristo’s is shut on a Wednesday.
Further in to Barga Vecchia we find the Verdeluna, the restaurant specialising in food from Puglia, Sicily but not today as they too are shut till December. All in all, Wednesday in November is a disaster.
Once upon a time all the bars had staggered days off so that a situation like this could be avoided …. so what happened ?
Maybe things will get easier for the coffee drinkers as the winter progresses and we move into the new year … hmm, maybe not, anybody remember last year ?
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O’Connor also went down in to Barga Giardino to see which bars and restaurants were open – there too it was a dismal affair but let’s just stop for one moment and take stock of the situation.
On the positive side, the fact that the bars and restaurants are taking their annual holidays in November is an improvement and a sign of change compared to how Barga used to be, say 10 or 15 years ago. In those years, the tourist season was very short and more or less covered just July and August. In September, the restaurants and bars would shut as many of the owners took their summer holidays on the beaches of nearby Viareggio and Forte di Marmi.
As the tourist boom started to pick in Barga with many more visitors coming to the city, the season expanded to include June, September and a good part of October and so shutting their businesses during those months meant losing a good deal of trade.
For the past couple of years the Baristi and Restaurateurs have moved their holidays into the slack month of November allowing them a well earned rest before the hectic Christmas, New Year and Befana season. The beaches of Viareggio and Forte di Marmi are cold, windy and deserted during November and so many started taking advantage of the cheap air flights on offer out of season and going to sunnier climes out of Italy.
On the negative side, there seems to be no mechanism in place to stagger their holidays so that at least one bar or restaurant is open in Barga Vecchia during certain days in November.
Any visitor arriving in Barga Vecchia this morning will be forced to leave and eat elsewhere as there are no bars or restaurants open to the public. For a city hoping to base a good part of its future on sensible tourism, this is not a good message we are giving out.
Hopefully this will be the last time that this article will have to be published on barganews – somebody please, please take note and lets start discussions about this problem.
I saw no mention of Franco Arrighi’s Bar Sport. If it’s also closed, where does everyone place their wagers?