Some old friends of barganews and both faces well known in Barga were married this weekend in Pieve di S. Giulia.
Sara who many people will have seen working in L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio and Leo who is the double bass player at the Barga Jazz Club and with many other groups including La Ghenga who recently had such a successful evening at the Lake Angels Soul Festival (article here) after a whirlwind courtship decided that there was no time like the present to make their vows to each other.
They chose the centuries old Pieve di S. Giulia as the ideal place for the marriage. The award winning photographer O’Connor was there for the occasion and he shares with us some of the images of the happy couple during their special day.
La pieve di Santa Giulia si trova in località Caprona nel comune di Vicopisano. È ricordata per la prima volta nel 1096. L’edificio attuale, in origine a due navate, è il frutto di molteplici fasi costruttive che si sono succedute a partire dall’XI secolo. Alla fine del XII o ai primi del XIII secolo risale la costruzione del campanile. All’esterno corre una serie di archeggiature su mensole decorate, con protomi animali e volti virili. L’interno è spoglio: da notare la mensa dell’altare, con iscrizione medievale lungo il bordo, e l’organo di Domenico Francesco Cacioli, del 1738, dal prospetto elegantissimo
A wedding with a difference this afternoon in Palazzo Pancrazi. The bridegroom and family were all Italain but the bride, the bride’s family and the bestwoman were all from Japan. Congratulations to the newly married couple - Andrea Verza and Kyoko Wakamatsu from all the staff at barganews.
An all English wedding in Barga Vecchia this afternoon as Christopher Anderton and Samantha Whitetook their vows in the centuries-old Palazzo Pancrazi. Congratulations to the happy couple from all the staff at barganews.
John Marcellino and Joanne McMeechan, both from Scotland but as often happens in this area, they have a connection with relatives here in Barga were married this afternoon in the Palazzo Pancrazi in front of the Mayor of Barga Umberto Sereni.
Barga - the home of the happy wedding or maybe the home of the happy wedding ceremony? This afternoon in Palazzo Pancrazi in Barga Vecchia the wedding ceremony took place between Jonathan Ingham and Susan Schleiper in front of more than 50 guests who all seemed to be enjoying their stay in Barga.
Giggles, laughter and applause filled the 500-year-old town hall as the happy couple were joined in matrimony. Smiles were the order of the day.
A wonderful wedding ceremony - congratulations to both Jonathan and Susan.
A wedding with a difference this afternoon up on the mountain above Barga as Valentina Notini and Gabriele Luti took their vows in the tiny church up in Renaio at over 1000 metres above sea level. The bride arrived in the traditional manner in a luxury car but the groom used a very different means of transport, he arrived at the ceremony riding on a Vespa accompanied by other members of the Barga Vespa Club.
The couple were accompanied into the church with the sound of the massed ranks of Vespas sounding their horns.Congratulations to the newly married couple from all the staff at barganews .
It’s not often that we show wedding photographs from places outside of Barga, but today we make an exception for two good friends of barganews who married today in the Comune of Coreglia. Mirko Muccini and Monika Pawlikowska had one or two problems actually getting married as when they turned up at the town hall in Coreglia they found the front door locked and the offices deserted. A slight bureaucratic hiccup kept the pair and their wedding guests standing outside in the Piazza for 30 minutes before somebody breathlessly arrived to unlock the door. All is well that ends well - a wonderful ceremony and then a very noisy motor cavalcade back down the mountain for the reception at the Circolo dei Forestieri in Bagni di Lucca.
Mirko is well known in the area as a singer with various bands and in fact there was a strong musical element present at the reception with Geoff, Jack Nannini and Simone Venturi from the Barga blues band Jack’s Pack (site here) providing some of the music.
One minute it’s winter and the next the spring is here in all its glory. Swallows diving around in the sunshine under a bright blue sky on a perfect first week in May. Spring is also the start of the wedding season here in Barga and this weekend Barga was host to a wonderful mix of cultures, colours and ideas as a couple from Northern Europe were joined in matrimony in a sunlit Southern European ceremony.
Dominic William Moore from England and Tychè Pas from Holland joined hands and exchanged rings and promises with each other in front of the Mayor of Barga, Umberto Sereni and more than 60 guests in the Palazzo Pancrazi.
It was not the first time in Barga for the couple as Dominic has relations here with the Morganti family and has visited many times. They decided that Barga would be the perfect place for their marriage ceremony.
Upon leaving the Palazzo Pancrazi they called in to Aristo’s bar to be serenaded by the maestro himself before moving on to a quick photocall in the evocative Altana painted by Bruno Cordati on top of the Palazzo Cordati and then finally to the premier wedding destination for many visitors to Barga - the Villa Moorings. As temperatures rose into the high 20’s swimming pool at the Villa was put to use for the first time this year (but it has to be said by the youngest guests at the wedding ceremony)
The chef Gabriele Da Prato pulled out all the stops and prepared a wedding feast fit for a king (and queen). The wonderful mix of habits and cultures was never more present than at the table where the Dutch guests were used to sitting down to eat sometime around 6 p.m. - the Italian guests a good two hours later.
Traditional beer drinkers meet wine tipplers.
The numerous courses which are quite normal at a traditional Italian wedding caused some of the Northern European guests a little difficulty in surmounting. There were one or two gasps of astonishment as the main meat course was carried to the tables sometime around 11pm.
The cultural mix continued when the live band of musicians mainly from the Lucca area handed over their instruments just before midnight to a group from Holland made up from the wedding guests and featuring none other than the bridegroom Dominic Moore on lead guitar.
Click on the link below to hear the wedding ceremony in Palazzo Pancrazi
Today was the first day of spring. Even though the overcast skies and cool wind over Barga seemed to deny that fact - there was definitely spring in the air this morning as the first of the spring marriage ceremonies took place in Barga Vecchia. Two visters to Barga from New York, USA; Laura Marsh and Ralph Spiegel took their vows in the historic Palazzo Pancrazi before moving on to a small reception at the L'Osteria in Piazza Angelio. Their movement through Piazza Salvi did not go unnoticed by the eagle eyed Aristodemo Casciani who burst into song with the Wedding March to help celebrate the occasion.
Click on the link below to listen to a short interview (in English) with Laura and Ralph as they explain their reasons for coming to Barga to be married, and some thoughts on the whole experience. Whilst in Barga the couple stayed at the Grifoglia
An interesting side note - the witnesses for this wedding were both well known to readers of barganews - on either side of the bride and groom were the writer of the Poetry column - and on the other side - Frank Viviano the author of the Frank Viviano column.
The sound of bagpipes in Barga Vecchia and everybody reaches for their umbrellas. Not really true, just one of those urban legends that every time there is a Scottish event in Barga the weather changes and gives us what is looked upon at traditional Scottish weather – low cloud, cool temperatures and slightly damp. This week is really did look as though there was some truth in the legend though as the wonderful summer weather and drought finished in a series of huge thunderstorms and lashing rain just as the same time that there was a Scottish wedding taking place. Douglas Harper and Carol Morin from East Lothian Scotland were here in the city with a dozen guests for their wedding in Palazzo Pancrazi .
As they entered the building the sky darkened and rain attempted to drench the bride but miraculously as they left the ceremony, now as man and wife and went onto the Mayor’s terrace for a photo shoot, out came the sun to reveal one those incredible lit up landscapes that only Barga can offer this time of year. The reception was held at Da Riccardo and the guests stayed at Hotel Villa Moorings
Silver and golden wedding anniversary on the same day today for daughter and her parents. A total of 75 years of marriage for the two couples. Lido Adami and Marcella Gonnella, two well known residents in Barga Vecchia today celebrated a partnership of 50 years - their golden wedding anniversary, in company with their daughter Maura and husband Alessandro Fontana who were also celebrating their silver wedding anniversary on the same day - 25 years together. The two couples attended a special mass held in their honour at the Duomo before they and 40 of their guests sat down for a celebration meal at Da Sandra in Fabbriche de Vallico.
All the staff at barganews wish to congratulate the two couples and also a special "well done" to their son Alessandro for organising today's events.
This just goes to show that flattery, can in fact, get you anywhere. There was a message on the chat board on the front page of barganews today which read;
liam, irish man : Visited Barga on the 11th of August for a week to celebrate my dads wedding, had a fantasic time and would recommend the town, the people, the food and the everything else about Barga to everybody i know and don't. Thank you Barga! Hope to be back soon.
Well what could we do to thank Liam ? hmmmmm, how about a belated wedding article? So more than a month late but we got there in the end.
My long time partner Deborah Corr and I ( William McDonagh ) were wed in Barga's town Hall on the 14th August 2007 at 17.00hrs. Although Deborah was born in Canada she is an Irish citizen, we live in Belfast, Ireland. Accompanying us on our special day was our children, Liam og, Simon Gene, Karl and Liam og's wife AnneMarie. After the ceremony we dined/partied at Restorante Il Pozzo in Pieve Fosciana and then back to Barga for some more refreshments at the L'Osteria in Piazza Angelio
Irish wedding in Barga Vecchia this afternoon. More than 40 guests crammed into the Palazzo Pancrazi to participate in the wedding of Gemma Coyle from Cavan Town Ireland and Fergus McDaid from Muff in Donegal, Ireland.
Once more Barga Vecchia was alive with the sound of traditional Irish music (two Irish Musicians married in Barga earlier this week- article here) - this time the music was played on the bodhran, fiddle and harp by Neill Lyons, his brother Barry and sister Helen.
All in the barganews office wish the happy pair all the best in the future.
Click on the link below to hear the wedding ceremony this afternoon in Barga Vecchia
A musical marriage in Barga this afternoon as two top class Irish musicians, Niall Vallely and Karan Casey, both took time out from their busy touring schedules for a very brief stay in the city to be joined in marriage at the Palazzo Pancrazi in Barga Vecchia.
Karan Casey is one of the most influential – and most imitated – voices in folk music. It’s hard to find anyone who follows Irish or American folk who has not fallen in love with Casey’s distinctive voice, as fragile as it is fierce (the Washington Post calls her “the Irish equivalent of Emmylou Harris”). “Setting her clear voice in arrangements that mix traditional and modern instruments, she maintains the taut, quivering ornamentation of old ballad style, singing tales of love, war and murder with a gentle gravity.” New York Times
Niall Vallely is from Northern Ireland. His parents, Brian and Eithne Vallely founded of the Armagh Piper's Club - a group that for over three decades has fostered the revival of traditional music in Ireland, his brother Cillian plays the uillean pipes and low whistle, another brother Caoimhin, plays classical piano, tin whistle and fiddle.
In 1998 Niall released a solo album of contemporary and traditional tunes from Ireland and Scotland. He also composed the tunes and produced the Karan Casey's album for children "The Seal Maiden".
Cillian Vallely plays with the Irish band Lunasa which released an album last year featuring a new tune from Cillian on the uillean pipes called ”Road to Barga”. He played a rendition of this tune in Piazza Salvo Salvi after the marriage to warm applause from the assembled crowd.
Karan Casey site is here | Niall Vallely site is here | Lunasa site is here
Lunasa will be touring the states and Canada this month:
USA:Fri Sep,07 07 Philadelphia Irish Fest Philadelphia, PASat Sep,08 07 University Of Hartford Hartford, CT Sun Sep,09 07 Night Eagle Festival Binghampton, NY Wed Sep,12 07 Liam Maguire’s Falmouth,MA Thu Sep,13 07 One Longfellow Square Portland, Maine Fri Sep,14 07 Chicago Celtic Fest Chicago, IL Sat Sep,15 07 Chicago Celtic Fest Chicago, IL Sun Sep,16 07 Cincinnatti Celtic Fest Cincinnatti, OH Mon Sep,17 07 School for Creative & Performing Arts Cincinnatti, OH Tue Sep,18 07 The Fenian's Irish Pub Conklin,MI Wed Sep,19 07 PJ McIntyres Irish Pub Cleveland, OH Thu Sep,20 07 The Arab American National Museum Dearborn, MI
CANADA: Fri Sep,21 07 Festival Place Sherwood Park, AB Sat Sep,22 07 Gateway @ SAIT Calgary, AB Sun Sep,23 07 West End Cultural Center Winnipeg, MB
Click on the link below to hear Cillian Vallely playing ”Road to Barga” in the piazza in Barga Vecchia
A wedding with a Scottish flavour in Barga Vecchia. The wedding of Chris and Kev. The Palazzo Pancrazi was full of laughter today for what was the most exuberant and joyful marriage seen in Barga this year. It all started fairly peaceful enough with the entry of a single piper into the castle.
The sound of the lone bagpipes filled the narrow streets and the sound just got louder and louder as the voices of the happy couple and their guests joined in.
The party just went on and on, spilling out into Barga Vecchia and beyond as they they then moved up to Da Riccardo's restaurant for the evening with the Barga Blues Band - Jack's Pack rounding out the occasion with their style of romping, stomping (and dare we say "yomping") r+b.
All in the barganews office wish Kevin and Chris all the best in the future
P.S The best man has a future as a great comic - without a doubt he produced the best best man's speech ever heard in these parts.
A couple who travelled from the other side of the globe to be married in Barga, tied the knot this afternoon in Barga Vecchia. The Mayor of Barga married Jarrad Moorley and Amelia Pitt in a civil ceremony in the centuries old Palazzo Pancrazi in front of assembled family and friends.
All of the staff at barganews wish the happy couple all the best in the future.
Click on the link below to hear part of their marriage ceremony in Palazzo Pancrazi
Barga was host to an English wedding today as Victoria Putsman and Adam Farquharson from the UK were married in the Duomo in Barga Vecchia but the ceremony had a distinctive Italian flavour as Riccardo's limited edition Ape Calessino (article here) was used for ther first time today to move the bride and her father almost to the door of the Duomo.
Victoria and Adam brought with them 35 guests from England and even their own priest to conduct the service in the cathedral. Father Michael was assisted in the ceremony by the Proposto for Barga Don Stefano.
The newly married couple and guests then moved on the reception at Da Riccardo's restaurant.
Click on the link below to listen to part of the ceremony in the Duomo
Another large wedding in Baga Vecchia this afternoon. Barga is fast becoming THE place to get married with many people coming in from abroad to celebrate their vows. Today instead it was a local marriage. Alessandro Bertoncini and Elisabetta Marroni became man and wife in the Palazzo Pancrazi in front of a large group of family and friends. All of the staff at barganews wish them a long and happy marriage.
The July weddings keep coming thick and fast in Barga Vecchia. The sound you hear as you pass the Palazzo Pancrazi is the sound of rice crunching under your feet. As soon as it is swept up another handfull is thrown.
This morning it was the turn of Sergio Rossi from Barga and his new bride Lenuta Chiru from Romania to tie the knot.
Congratulations to the newly wedded couple from all in the barganews offices.
Info : Please, resolve the addition below before post any new comment...
W. Shakespeare : Lear? Not at all! Those words are lifted from Macbeth's soliloquy:"....L ife's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
Quentin Compson : Yes, Ma'am. It would be King Lear I believe, an allusion to the fool (and to Lear himself). But there is a more recent connection between Yokapatawpha and the Coldfields with a Biblical reference -- Absalom -- rather than the Shakespearean one to which you allude.
poetry : Miss Coldfield, considered poetess laureate of Yoknapatawpha County, may simply be quoting Shakespeare, I do believe.
Quentin Compson : Rosa: Stay in your own novel, please. You have no business in The Sound and the Fury, although I appear in both.
Quentin Compson : Doggy, May I refer you to three sources on the Action-Theory dialectic? Albert Camus: "To do is to be." Jean-Paul Sartre: "To be is to do." Francis Albert Sinatra; "Do be do be doo." That should answer your question.
Rosa Coldfield : ... it is a tale Told by and idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
doggybag : Quentin - your constant focus on ideas over deeds makes you a highly unreliable commentator- quite often it is difficult to tell which of the actions you are suggesting are mere figments of your imagination and which you really do think should be acted upon.
Quentin Compson : Hey, you two ought to get together sometime.
Rosa Coldfield : Why of course : )
Thomas Sutpen : Miss Rosa knows very well who will merely endure, and who will ultimately prevail
Rosa Coldfield : It is not entirely clear, however, who has been sorest lately or with whom ; )
Lord Beaconsfield : Welcom back, Barganews, you were sorely missed
doggybag : fingers and legs crossed
Santi : Thank you for answering my question.
Cartier-Bresson : What a wonderful image of the equally wonderful Maestra Paola -- that could be no one else's elegantly gloved hand...
Guest_4784 : the girl behind the bar is in the ALTANA rest. just inside the old city
message for Santi : Altana
Santi : O.K. Which bar is it?
doggybag : Hello Santi - no - not the Alpino
Santi : Is the daily image of the girl behind the bar is of Alpino?
Casey Jones : Summer bus schedule to real station: see Forum Aug 5.
aquilotta : Hi Doggybag! sorry haven't been in touch for so long. Love your daily images as always.
Guest_3522 : And here I thought there were roadents eating my main board.
doggybag : you are welcome Guest_689 ... now if I could just fix the sound streaming system with is doing a serious chipmonk impression on some computers
Guest_689 : Dear Mr Braganews Thank you for fixing the webcam
Guest_3522 : Scottish emigration to Malaysia ? - see «link»
Guest_878 : the most scottish town with the most scottish idiots
Guest_3522 : Re: Daily Images 26 July: Let us fervently hope that being "Italy's most Scottish town" doesn't bring more of this UK-style tagging and yobbish hooliganism to Barga. The vandals in question were two young men from Scotland. «link»
doggybag : sorry Guest_4772 - the hordes of barganews technicians are working on it day and night -- expect some results shortly
Guest_4772 : Please can the web cam with view of sommocolonia be fixed as it makes my day
Guest_878 : è più bella alla volta dei Menchi, c'è un barista molto attraente.
Guest_2204 : Salve sono kate da londra, chi mi puo spiegare come mai alla festa del centro storico manca SPIAGGIA LIBERA???? Era troppoooo bella!!!!!
guatemalteco : pou salutare riccardo dell,osteria/ grazie
book exchange : 250 new books just added to the barganews book exchange «link»
w le piante : la gente non si fida piu' perche' troppi alberi sono stati abbattuti inutilmente, significa che non c'e' rispetto per le piante e quindi per la natura. come mai questi alberi sono sopravvissuti tutti questi anni e improvvisamente si ammalano e diventano pericolosi? forse dovremmo rivedere il modo in cui le piante vengono potate e fare piu' prevenzione?!?
