The via di Mezzo comes to an end at the Porta Macchiaia a few metres past the turn off to Via della Fontana. Just before this, to the right, is where the Via della Speranza begins, climbing steeply upwards until it reaches the stairway which leads to the area of the Aringo. Here you can stop for a much deserved rest and to admire the panorama and the Cathedral.
Via della Speranza is not very long and there is not much to stop for along the way. A few tens of metres from its beginning, on the right, just before reaching the Piazza Verzani, you will find a little church dedicated to San Felice and the headquarters of the Confraternity of the Misericordia, the standard bearer of all the voluntary societies active today in Barga. This Confraternity, which was set up in Barga some years ago, runs the ambulance service and is concerned with the transport of the sick and the wounded and with emergency first aid. It can be reached via the telephone number 118.
After the church and still on the right, is Piazza Verzani which is flanked by Via della Speranza on its western side. On the other side of the street there is a particularly beautiful view which merits a short stop and allows those less fit to catch their breath. Immediately below you can see the rocky banks of the Ripa, and at the end of the little valley, the fosso of the Latriani. On the hill opposite you can see the green slopes of the nearby villages of Ortici, Serra, Buvicchia, Gragnana and Fondamento, where a few scattered farm houses and the occasional villa, of recent construction, create a picturesque bucolic scene. If you lift your gaze upwards towards Pegnana, Tiglio and the mountains of the Tuscan-Emilian Appenines you will have an idea of the view ahead, once you have climbed up to the Aringo.