As Barga moves into the second week in May the gradual increase in visitors to the city starts to become more noticeable. It is now often necessary to book in advance to be sure of a table in many of the restaurants for instance, something which has not been necessary right through the winter. Amongst this new influx of people visiting Barga, one person has been visibly more noticeable than most. A thin, gangly man with his long blonde hair topped off with a hat, striding through Barga Vecchia in large seemingly oversized boots and with the gait that perhaps gave more of an idea of a round the world yachtsman after reaching land for the first time in many months.
A bright orange half length leather coat complete with large expanses of boa constrictor snakeskin on the front sides and back complete the striking image. Once seen not forgotten. The Finnish poet Jukka Itkonen was in town once again.
Jukka Itkonen on Wikipedia (in Finnish)
Although Jukka has been a regular visitor to Barga over the last decade, a recent serious illness which kept him confined to hospital and then to convalescence for the last two years has made any form of travelling very difficult for him. That is until a week ago, when as he was leaving a bar in Helsinki, he decided on the spur of the moment that the next bar he should visit should be Aristo’s bar in Barga Vecchia (site here). Not bothering to return home to pack, Jukka and his wife Inga took a taxi to the airport and hopped onto a plane to Italy.
The following day a fairly dishevelled and visibly tired but sporting a broad smile from ear to ear Jukka sat down outside Aristo’s bar and ordered a beer – a large beer.
The following morning the pair took full advantage of the Saturday market in Barga Giardino to buy some clothes as in the rush to leave Finland they had arrived in Barga with more or less the clothes they stood up in. By the afternoon they had sorted out their accommodation and moved into one of the apartments in Casa Cordati (site here) It was there that Jukka discovered one of the hidden gems of Barga – the Altana – the tower on the top of Casa Cordati.
Offering an unparalleled view over the rooftops of Barga Vecchia and with all the walls inside the Altana decorated with murals painted by Bruno Cordati it was a perfect place for him to start work. Jukka has been writing most of this week up in “his tower”. He describes his working method as “old school” preferring to use his favourite pen and write longhand in a notebook. Only when the poems are finished will they be transferred into a digital medium.
His stay in Barga has had to be cut short as he has to return to Helsinki for the publication of his latest book of poems but so taken was Jukka by the peace and quiet and incredible light flowing through the Altana that he will be back shortly to continue his work on the Barga poems ….. maybe, maybe not.
click on the link below to listen to Jukka talking about his time here in Barga.
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How can a single world encompass Jukka Itkonen and George Bush? The sublime and the ridiculous..