The April edition of the Easyjet inflight magazine carries an article about the Scottish connection in Barga. The article, written by Sarah Lane starts by saying that, “at first glance, Barga looks like any other pretty medieval Tuscan hill town. It’s got it all: the white-stone cathedral, the stunning views across green hills and an old town centre with steep, narrow lanes” but she then goes on to say, ” but listen carefully to the voices of passers-by and you’ll hear impeccable Italian, softened by an unmistakeable Scottish burr”
“It all dates back to the late 19th century,” explains Vanda Bartolomei, originally from Dumfries, who now runs the ice-cream shop La Gelateria (14 Via di Mezzo). “There was a lot of emigration from Italy at that time, but this was a particular area of depression.”
Barga had flourished for five centuries under Florence’s rule, but the town suffered severe economic depression after Italian unification in 1861 when scores of locals emigrated to Glasgow and its surrounding area. It’s estimated that, today, 60% of Barga’s residents have relatives in the west of Scotland, while many of the original emigrant families have made the return journey and now live in Barga. Indeed, Vanda’s husband Roberto is a returnee – he moved back in 1976.
With so much movement between the two towns it’s not surprising that this corner of Tuscany has developed a distinctly Scottish flavour – literally. This year, the town’s Burns Night Supper saw a haggis flown in from Glasgow (via London) that very morning so that 52 residents could enjoy a traditional feast in honour of Scotland’s best-loved bard. (article here) Guests at Da Riccardo (Piazzale del Fosso) dined on cock- a-leekie soup, the fresh haggis and a dram or two of whisky. And on match days, the scent of a full Scottish breakfast wafts through the air at Bar Paologas (8 Via Marconi) as the Barga Celtic Supporters Club get together to watch their team play.(article here)
Ron Gauld moved over from Scotland with his wife Susi nine years ago. He opened the Casa Fontana B&B (casa-fontana.com) and has started making what he hopes will be his own contribution to Barga’s gastronomic melting pot: Birra di Barga. “We’re still very much at the experimental stage with the beer,” he stresses. “Currently, we’re using three types of malted barley for the brewing process, plus local hops and spelt, an ancient grain that has grown around this area for more than 2,000 years.”
Gauld hopes to start marketing his Barga-made beer soon. “We’ve been granted permission to use the town’s coat-of-arms on labels,” he said, “and we’ve had the occasional tasting session. It’s gone down very well so far!” (article here) There’s already plenty of interest in Barga beer – Roberto Bartolomei has even made a batch of beer-flavoured ice cream to sell in the shop.
The Bartolomeis were also among the first fryers at Tuscany’s most curious food festival, the Sagra del Pesce e Patate. The annual fish and chip festival started more than 20 years ago with the aim of maintaining Scottish links and providing funds for the local football club. The festival now draws crowds of up to 10,000 and lasts for 17 days through July and August. (article here)
But Barga’s Scottish connection is about more than food and drink. John Bellany, one of Scotland’s best-known painters of the last century, made the town his home after a liver transplant in 1988. He says he was mesmerised by its “enchanting landscape”, and now has a small gallery in the town. (articles here)
Upon hearing Bellany’s passionate description of Barga in a radio interview, Scotland’s top bagpipe-maker, Hamish Moore, was inspired to book a flight and see the town for himself. Following a year in Barga as craftsman-musician in residence, Moore set up a two-week summer school covering all aspects of Scottish culture, from music to dance, taught by a team of experts from Scotland. The course has run for the last three years, and residents hope Moore will be back again this summer. (articles here)
But the most famous musician to wax lyrical about Barga is Paolo Nutini. The Scottish pop star’s great grandparents left the town for Paisley, just outside Glasgow, where they set up a fish and chip shop. Nutini regularly visits Barga, performing every year at the Lake Angels festival in July and the annual jazz festival in August. What else would you expect from “the most Scottish town in Italy”? (article here)
La Barga-Scotland connection di nuovo in auge. Ad occuparsi del particolare rapporto che Barga ha con la Scozia e delle caratteristiche scozzesi delle genti di Barga è stata la rivista di volo della compagnia aerea Easyjet con un bell’articolo scritto da Sarah Lane.
Il servizio porta il significativo titolo “”Scottish Tuscany” e parla appunto di un piccolo borgo medievale dove i suoni ed i sapori sanno più di atmosfere glaswegiane, di quella città Glasgow, dove vivono centiaia di famiglie legate a Barga. “Si stima che, oggi, il 60% dei residenti di Barga – scrive la giornalista – hanno parenti che vivono in Scozia”
L’articolo riporta anche una serie di interviste a bargo-scozzesi rientrati a Barga ed a scozzesi che invece hanno deciso di vivere e lavorare qui, primo tra tutti il noto pittore John Bellany rimasti incantato dalla bellezza di Barga. E come lui il notissimo, nel campo, suonatore di cornamuse Hamish Moore che proprio sentendo parlare di Barga da Bellany alla BBC ha deciso di venire nella cittadina dove per alcuni anni ha aperto un laboratorio per costruire cornamuse e dove torna ogni anno, per esibirsi assieme ai migliori artisti di musica celtica e scozzese.
Parla poi della sagra del pesce e patate, simbolo del lavoro di tante famiglie barghigiane emigrate in Scozia proprio per aprire ristoranti di “fish and chips” e che si tiene ogni anno a Barga.
Del fatto che qui ogni anno alla trattoria Da Riccardo si celebri la “Burns Night” , la cena in ricordo del più grande poeta scozzese Robert Burns,; dei bargoscozzesi come Roberto e Wanda Bartolomei che a Barga dirigono una gelateria ; ma anche del Bar del Paolo gas dove si seguono in diretta le partite dei Celtic Rangers o di Ron Gauld giunto dalla Scozia con la moglie Susi nove anni fa e che sta tentando di brevettare la prima birra di Barga.
Non manca ovviamente un rilievo per la figura bargo-scozzese più popolare, la pop star Paolo Nutini i cui nonni erano di Barga ed i cui genitori dirigono un ristorante di fish and chips a Paisley.
“Che altro ci si poteva aspettare, chiude la giornalista Sarah Lane, dalla ‘the most scottish town in Italy’”?