Nella quotidianità del nostro tempo e del nostro mondo apprendere di due persone che stanno ancora insieme dopo tanti anni fa pensare ad un tempo lontano e ormai passato, probabilmente irripetibile per tanti motivi, dove amore era anche unione, quella su cui basare la propria esistenza.

Ed indubbiamente è quello che hanno fatto Ubaldo e Maria, lui Fornacino doc e lei pievarina, coetanei del 1938 e con alle spalle una gioventù fortemente condizionata dalla guerra che li ha resi grandi prima del tempo. Un’esperienza che però li ha temperati e li ha fatti crescere con tanti propositi.

I due si conoscono agli anizi degli anni ’50 in occasione delle quarantore di Castelvecchio. Poi Ubaldo parte per andare a cerca lavoro in Francia, ma dopo tre anni deve ritornare perché al cuore non si comanda. Da lì in poi comincia la loro vera storia. Nel 1956 il fidanzamento ufficiale culminato cinque anni dopo nelle nozze, precisamente il 21 ottobre del 1961 nella chiesa di Pontardeto in quel di Pieve Fosciana.

Dopo le nozze, una vita da dividere insieme e così è sempre stato e poi da dedicare ai figli, Alessandra, Riccardo e Gianluca che nascono tra il 1963 ed il 1968.

Tre figli adorati che al Ristorante Il Pozzo di Pieve Fosciana ieri hanno voluto dire a modo loro: Grazie, mamma, grazie, babbo per tutto quello che ci avete dato ed insegnato.

Ubaldo e Maria oggi vivono a Castelvecchio Pascoli e la nostra Amministrazione Comunale, riconoscente anche per la vita esemplare di questi due concittadini, è voluta essere presente ai festeggiamenti consegnando una pergamena a ricordo di questo anniversario.

Agli sposi giungano anche i complimenti di giornaledibarganews.com e naturalmente un nuovo… bravi!

Durante la celebrazione, in un clima decisamente emozionante, sono state rinnovate le promesse di matrimonio e Don Marco, che sostituiva il proposto Don Stefano Serafini, ha rivolto alla coppia, a nome di tutta la comunità barghigiana, le più vive felicitazioni per il raggiungimento di un traguardo di vita e di cammino davvero importante. Tanta la partecipazione di amici, parenti e concittadini, particolarmente bello il tributo dei campanari che si sono schierati all’uscita della funzione religiosa per omaggiare il loro maestro e la sua consorte.

[View with PicLens]

[View with PicLens]

The story starts in India when David from Canada met Kristin from California, USA but with Irish roots. Friends they met in India offered the pair their house for the winter in Barga… David and Kristin  spent the winter here in Barga and promptly fell deeply in love with each other and Barga.

Although they have now moved to Firenze their story with Barga has continued as they decided that the best place in the world to hold their wedding ceremony  …. was of course, right here in Barga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTggJnBOhLY

The vice mayor of Barga couldn’t have agreed more as he says in the short interview below recorded  a few minutes before the ceremony as the assembled guests waited for the bride to arrive.

This afternoon, 80 guests from around the world dropped into the city for the wedding service held at Il Cedri.

More guests watched on line as the complete service was broadcast live across the internet – here

[View with PicLens]

From the high vantage point of Il Cedri, people gradually returned back down the mountain to Barga for the rest of the marriage ceremony, this time held in Villa Sognare in Barga Vecchia.

Villa Sognare is situated inside the ancient walled city of Barga. Built by the noble Bertacchi family in the mid 1700’s, it incorporates a much older villa into the grand design. The three story tower that anchors the villa was built over the ruins of the medieval fortification tower for the village of Barga, as the villas’ position affords commanding views of the surrounding valley.

[View with PicLens]

EMMA:

“Ho dovuto passare 23 anni, un corso d’italiano, un mare e mille momenti di solitudine e paura prima di trovarmi con l’uomo che mi ha fatto capire il significato delle parole ‘a casa’, ‘amore vero’, e ‘Bunga Bunga.’”

FABIO:

“Ho dovuto passare 44 anni, tante serate ubriaco e 99 donnacce prima di trovarmi con la donna che mi ha fatto capire il significato delle parole ‘amore puro’, ‘passione’ e ‘quanto spendo?’”

Siamo molto eccitati a riunire le nostre vite, a creare una famiglia e un futuro pieno di amore, risate e felicita’. CI SPOSIAMO! e non solo: il tema anni 40/50 e’ il nostro stile, e vi diamo l’opportunita’ di trovare il personaggio vintage dentro di voi. Speriamo che tutti voi possiate celebrare questo bellissimo matrimonio insieme a noi nella nostra meravigliosa Barga, domenica 26 Giugno.

[View with PicLens]

EMMA & FABIO.

Where the bells have spells and where the ancient stones protect their people our love was set like a home and we found peace and security in each others’ arms. Do we not all live our lives waiting for something as magical as this? So we must celebrate and unite as one, and create a family and share the warmth of our happiness with all of those close to us. WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!

We are super-duper excited to become little mr&mrs guazzelli and hope you all can join us under the tuscan sun as we make our first steps into the world of oneness.

Since we are seperated by sea and sun those of you from my homeland can keep updated on travel, accomodation, wedding day plans etc using this site, so keep you eyes open for any updates.

Please confirm your attendance in our RSVP section of the website, and post any songs you want to hear at the party on our Music page.

let’s have a musical!! I mean, a wedding.

40s/50s: Come Vestirsi / Dress Code

So… it was really really difficult to decide on a theme based around the 40s and 50s because everything was so good (except the third reich and fascism) and so we’ve decided that swing and glamour eclectic is what we want…

So we are inviting you to our:

1940s/50s RUSTIC CHIC WEDDING!
… boy that’s gonna be stylish.

The Swing Era was very much at its peak in the early 40s, and although its popularity began to decline during the war, we’re going to milk that early 40s style for all it’s worth. Think Glenn Miller, Benny Goodmann, Zoot suits for men, and high neck blouses and flowy swing skirts for the ladies! The wedge-heeled open-toe shoe became popular during the decade, using cork or wood in the sole. Nylons were unavailable. Some women painted their legs with make-up, complete with eyeliner back seams, but many women opted to simply wear socks!

The wedding venue is a beautiful rustic Villa so I figured some day dresses shoud be in mind. Polka dots and flowery patterns of the 40s day dresses are stunning! guys should wear like brown and grey suits with braces ken?
I really don’t mind if people want to come a bit more casual… think of the town of Corleone in The Godfather – I think that was set around 1947.
Also – during the war, it was commonplace for men to attend weddings in uniform so if anyone has any soldier or sailor suits get them oot!
So as we move into the 40s style became more conservative as it was generally considered in bad taste to dress in anything too showy or extravagant during a time of shortage… that’s why we are also moving into the GLAMOUROUS 1950s…

After the war, American women were ready for something drastically different. In 1947, Christian Dior gave them what they wanted – the “New Look,” which featured long, full skirts, a soft feminine look, and peplums galore.

Now when I think of the 50s I imagine a charm so perfect and false that you can’t help wanting to try it.

When I think of the 50s I see Mariyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Judy Garland (to be name but a few) A sea of bright lights, tap-shoes, that ecstatic smile of Musical Theatre. I want some OTT attempts.

Qualcuno lo ha definito il matrimonio dell’anno, ma anche se così non fosse (ma lo è) quello di Fabio Guazzelli ed Emma Morton è stato sicuramente il matrimonio più speciale del centro storico di Barga per questo 2011. Una grande festa in stile anni’40 e ’50, nel più puro stile di vita di Emma e Fabio, ma soprattutto una bella occasione di unione tra realtà e culture diverse, quella della Scozia da cui proviene Emma e quella di Fabio, castelnovese e garfagnina in primis e barghigiana di seguito. E, in special modo, la festa dell’amore tra Fabio ed Emma sbocciato in una calda estate di due anni orsono ed arrivato ieri al fatidico, tanto atteso e tanto voluto sì.
Tanti invitati, tutti in stile rigorosamente vintage, ed una bellissima festa che è cominciata nel pomeriggio di ieri in paizza del Comune, che è proseguita con la cerimonia celebrata dal sindaco Marco Bonini nella sala consiliare e che è andata avanti con diversi step prima nell’antico Castello e poi nella bella cornice di Villa Biondi dove “Fabiemma” hanno ricevuto parenti ed amici più cari. Musica, brindisi, giopchi, buona cucina e soprese varie all’infinito.
Ci sarebbe tanto da aggiungere e da dire, ma terminiamo semplicemente qui. L’amore tra Fabio ed Emma è talmente grande che basta e avanza per concludere questo servizio. Un abbracio da tutti noi del giornaledibarganews

[View with PicLens]

What could be a better location for a wedding than the terrace  of the centuries-old Palazzo Pancrazi in Barga Vecchia?

Michael Clark and Megan O’Donnell from East Lothian, Scotland were married this afternoon by the Assessore, Vittorio Salotti in front of a small group of friends and family.

All the staff at the giornaledibarganews wish the happy couple all the very best in the future

[View with PicLens]

But not by a Montague or Capulet but instead by an Abbott or a Durrant

So just what are we talking about here ?  Ok let’s back track ….

Quite a few years ago a young student from England, Lydia Abbott  visited Barga as part of a project to perform Shakespeare in Italy. A production of Romeo and Juliet was in fact put on in Piazza Salvi with Lydia in the role of Juliet.

She fell in love with Barga and upon returning to England has since been an avid reader of barganews keeping up with everything about Barga in her native Liverpool.

She then met and fell in love with Jonathan Durrant and it was only logical that the place that she chose to seal the match was of course, here in her beloved Barga.

[View with PicLens]

Images of the marriage ceremony and blessing at Villa Collette are by another person who came to Barga, fell in love with the place and is now a permanent resident – the  Scottish photographer Hamish Scott-Brown MA (photog) and just recently awarded a ‘Fellowship’ of the British Institute of Photography.

International award winning photographer Hamish Scott -Brown is an outstanding contemporary photographer operating at the cutting edge of the industry. His inimitable approach secures his place as a leading exponent and digital artist who provides images of the highest quality and style

Hamish trained originally at the prestigious Bournemouth and Poole College of Art where he studied photography along with so many other great British talents like Turner prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans and world renowned fashion photographer Nick Knight. Recognised by his tutors as an outstanding student, he went on to work as an assistant to names like Tony McGee and John Swannell before operating as a freelance photographer, graduating as a teacher from Strathclyde University and finally securing a post as a Principal University Lecturer.  – more here

Music for the event was supplied by yet another person who arrived in Barga for a short period, fell in love with the people and the place and has since made it her permanent home – Emma Morton, the enigmatic and stylish leader of the band Emma e gli Aristodemos

[View with PicLens]

All the staff at barganews wish Lydia Abbott and Jonathan Durrant all the very best for the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raAGENs_LEU

The pair were accompanied through the city by an old friend of barganews, the piper Nick MacVicar  (site here) who has more or less made Barga his second home (article here and here) for all things Scottish.

The reception was held in the Hotel Villa Moorings where later on that evening the sky was lit up by sky lanterns silently floating above the city. Watch the video below to see just how these sky lanterns (also known as good wish lanterns) were lit up and set free over the sky of Barga.

[View with PicLens]

Sky lanterns are airborne paper lanterns traditionally found in some Asian cultures. They are constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame, and contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material. When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, thus lowering its density causing the lantern to rise into the air. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern floats back to the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVnHNNIHggE

The happy couple and their guests then moved onto the the Ciocco Hotel just outside Barga for the rest of their celebrations which continued well into the next day.

The staff at barganews would like to send their congratulations to Vaina and Alessandro and wish them all the very best in their marriage.

[View with PicLens]

Her family,  originally coming from Barga,  but since emigrated like many local families during the last century is mainly now located in the Sunderland area of the UK  but for Annalisa who has spent every summer since childhood holidaying in Barga,  today was a dream come true as she married her companion, Alexander  in her beloved Duomo.

The reception was held in Villa Moorings,  the perfect  setting considering its own history of Barghigiani moving abroad before returning to their city.

[View with PicLens]

Main image of the couple at the head of this article taken in the altana above Casa Cordati

The City of Barga was host to an international wedding this weekend when

The wedding was performed by our own, Don Stefano and Fr David Cregan who was flown in from the USA especially for the weekend.

After the ceremony the wedding party moved back down the hill to Barga Giardino to the Hotel Villa Moorings (site here)  where the reception for all the guests, numbering over 80, was in full swing and stayed that way until past midnight with music supplied by Barga’s Italian Swing band – Emma e gli Aristodemos. ( articles here)

[View with PicLens]

During that “window of opportunity” into the piazza walked Angela Gahagan and Scott Dunphy.

The couple were, even to a casual observer, all smiles, happy faces and full of the joys of spring … and so they should be as they were on their way to Palazzo Pancrazi to married.

A spring wedding in Barga was a dream come true for Angela.

Click on the link at the end of this article to hear Angela and her new husband, Scott talking about just why they chose to marry in Barga

[View with PicLens]

wedding_may_barga_19may2010

Marco Landi from Barga, who’s heavily tattooed figure has often appeared on barganews and Sara Zanni da Fornaci di Barga were married this morning.

The couple then mounted their bikes and sped off into the distance, destination unknown but in the general direction of the French border.

(In fact they were spotted in Marseilles, France later on that day)

Congratulations to the pair from all the staff at barganews.

[View with PicLens]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxlEenEtDKU

On the 6th June 2009 Barga welcomed the world famous tenor Dennis O’Neill back to the city. He was here for the 3rd year with the Cardiff International Academy of Voice running a series of masterclasses for budding professional singers with the potential to embark on a career in opera. (article here)

Two weeks later they performed a concert of music by Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi and Bach in the Annunziata church in Barga Vecchia. Singing that evening were; Mary-Jean O’Doherty, Clair Egan, Catrin Aur Davies, Ione Cumming, Renee Martin, Noel Hernandez, Carlos Osuna, Rhys Jenkins, Philip Rhodes, Bulelani Madikizela, Hyun Tae Kim, Julia Lezhneva, Courtney Mills and the soprano Sally He Li.

The Cardiff International Academy of Voice masterclass finished soon after and the singers returned to their respective countries but one remained, captured by Barga and above all by the charms of a certain Riccardo Negri, the proprieter of the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio – yes, the soprano Sally He Li.

Things then moved very quickly with Sally being voted “woman of the piazza”  (article here) and shortly after she was proudly showing to one and all an enormous ring announcing her engagement to be married to Riccardo.  As we then published  – wedding bells were expected in January 2010.

In fact, there were a number of bureaucratic problems to be ironed out but on Saturday all came to fruition as Sally and Riccardo were married in the Palazzo Pancrazi in front of a huge crowd of friends , family and well wishers.

Click on the link to hear the ceremony : wedding_barga_sally_riccardo_13march2020

Many more were outside the Palazzo unable to join in the ceremony due to the limited space but they were also outside the prepare a surprise for the newly weds once the ceremony was over.

[View with PicLens]

Musicians from Barga and Lucca joined forces to provide a musical backdrop for a special event organised by friends of the couple: a game of Backgammon – the game That Sally and Riccardo have been playing non stop most of the year. This time there was a slightly different look to the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6lMU-x4ahQ

The history of Backgammon goes back approximately 5,000 years.

Board games have existed for millenia in Ancient Egypt and Southwest Asia. The ancient Egyptian game senet ,was excavated, along with illustrations, from ancient Egyptian royal tombs. The Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia, may also be an ancestor of modern day table games. Excavations at Shahr-e Sokhteh in Iran have shown that a similar game existed there around 3000 BC. The artifacts include two dice and 60 checkers, and the set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the sets found in Ur. The ancient Romans played a number of games remarkably similar to backgammon. Ludus duodecim scriptorum (“Game of twelve lines”) used a board with three rows of 12 points each, and the checkers were moved across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Little specific text about the gameplay has survived. Tabula, meaning “table” or “board”, was a game mentioned in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (AD 476–481). It was similar to modern backgammon in that the object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of one’s checkers. Players threw three dice and moved their checkers in opposing directions on a board of 24 points.

Instead of using checkers to mark out the progress of the board, guests from the wedding stood in line and were moved around the board according to the throw of the supersized dice.

The party then moved onto Piazza Angelio which had been decorated with Chinese lanterns and red fabrics and with tables and chairs filling most of the piazza as the serious business of the day got underway – eating.

Due to the large numbers of guests the staff of the L’Osteria were stretched to the limit of their capacities … instead of a normal day with 30 -40 people seated, today they had more like 300-400 hungry souls clamouring for attention but all were served in the end and what could have been better than to relax in the piazza with the first of the spring sunshine and live musicians to keep you company ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e78BHFdiaKs

Later on that afternoon was the cake cutting (again in the piazza) and then the tables were cleared as everybody moved down into the Hot Club for the concert from the Manolo Strimpelli Night Orchestra. The Orchestra seems to be gradually making Piazza Angelio their home as well . Their last concert during the summer can be seen  here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_vsFWET8M

The groom’s mother dressed in traditional sari of the Indian Subcontinent despite the November chill and threatening rain clouds probably summed up the mix of cultures, races, languages and customs present in the sala of the Palazzo Pancrazi.

Guests had come from right around the world for the wedding of Suyog Anant Peshkar and Christina Bianchessi.

Congratulations to the pair from all the staff at barganews.

[View with PicLens]

Click on the link below to hear the complete wedding ceremony and some of the speeches made at the start of the proceedings.

wedding_barga_15nov2009

So in an era of rising divorce and separations it is somewhat pleasing to report on an event which bucks this trend.

[View with PicLens]

This morning Aristo’s bar in Barga Vecchia  remained firmly closed and a short, almost terse,  hand written note attached to the window informed his clients that the bar would be shut for the day.

It had to be a special reason for shutting what is more or less the unofficial cultural centre of Barga on a Sunday …. and a very special reason it was too – today was the diamond wedding anniversary of Luciana and Aristodemo Casciani.

On this day 60 years ago in 1949 there were joined as man and wife in the Duomo. (Aristo recently had 85th birthday so its quite easy to work out just what his age was when he married.) This morning celebrations of their long, long marriage started with a special service for the pair at the  San Francesco church.

A plaque commemorating the event with an image of them both from 1949 as they left the Duomo was presented to a by now near tearful Aristo and his wife by Gabriele Giovannetti representing the Comune before the large group of family and friends moved onto the Pergola restaurant for the meal.

AT 4 pm Aristo and his guests were still seated in the restaurant after a gargantuan feast and just about to enjoy the final treat – the cake baked specially for the occasion when in walked the last surprise of the day – the musicians Alessandro Rizardi and Fabio Guazzelli carrying their own instruments – guitar and mandolin and a keyboard for Aristo.  Two minutes later the keyboard was plugged in and Aristo was doing his stuff for all present in the restaurant.

Congratulations to Luciana and Aristo from all the staff at barganews.

*Mark Twain popularised the phrase “‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”  meaning of course that statistics can be manipulated at will but even taking that into account some times numbers do stand out

The bells rung out over Barga this afternoon as Lorenzo Giuliani and Francesca Baldaccini took their vows and exchanged rings in front of the Proposto Don Stefano in a church filled with friends and relatives.

At the end of the ceremony, the party started once again.  Congratulations to the pair from all the staff at barganews

[View with PicLens]

IsJldEMUBGk

The celebrations then moved down to the Hotel Villa Moorings – click on the link at the end of this article to hear the Bridegroom’s mother talking (in English) about some of her ancestors and her families links with Barga.

Congratulations to Laura and Christopher McKenna from all the staff at barganews.

[View with PicLens]

Click on the link below to hear the Bridegroom’s mother talking this evening at the reception

wedding_mckenna_19sept2009

Marco Bonini is one of the 35o faithful members of the Barga Vespa Club and so it was right and fitting that the couple should leave Barga Vecchia astride one of those Vespas followed by other members of the club mounted on their trusty steeds.

[View with PicLens]

[View with PicLens]

Congratulations to the pair and all the best for the future from all the staff at barganews.

Click on the link below to hear the wedding ceremony in the Palazzo Pancrazi

marriage_4july2009

[View with PicLens]

His father, Geoff Collins-White, the voice behind the recently disbanded Barga blues band – Jack’s Pack (and now transmogrified in the trio The Beagles) travelled along with his wife Brenda from Barga to Cornwall to be present at the ceremony.

Also present were two special guests, well known in this city; Alessandro Santini and Alessandro Adami. Thanks to the latter we have a series of images from the wedding that we can publish on barganews.

Both Rupert and Alessandro appear on the cover of the Petanque site, the favoured sport of the pair when Rupert was still living in Barga

Congratulations to the pair from all the staff at barganews.com