As part of his winning election campaign in June 2009, Marco Bonnini, the Mayor of Barga promised that he would revoke the one-way system along the tree-lined Via Funai and turn it once more into two-way traffic. The Sereni administration had set up a one-way system to relieve some of the traffic flow making it pass on the road by the football stadium and swimming pool in Viale Puccini. At the time there was a good deal of polemic about the temporarily Sereni solution which looked as though it was going to end up as a permanent solution. Many people disagreed with this, pointing out the irony of Viale Puccini which is effectively the widest and largest road in Barga being reduced to one way and wanted two-way traffic restored to Viale Puccini and Via Funai.
This afternoon work started on cutting down eight of the Lime trees lining both sides of the narrow Via Funai. The trees which have stood for more than a century are being cut down to make space for a number of passing places so that traffic can pass in both directions.
All this afternoon the votes from the outlying polling stations in the hills around Barga and down at Fornaci di Barga where brought into Barga Vecchia and finally at 5 pm the results were posted up on the wall at Bar Capretz in front of a sizable crowd eager for the news of the day. Would there be an upset and a surprise in store of the inhabitants of Barga? The answer was a fairly predictable “No” As expected, the new mayor of Barga is MARCO BONINI with over 68% of the votes in his favour. It could be said that the people of Barga have voted to keep the “ship on course” following along the direction set by his predecessor Umberto Sereni. 6225 valid votes (plus 136 blank slips and 182 votes deemed not valid) – article here
MARCO BONINI votes; 4239 – 68.10 %
ORIANO BARTOLOMEI votes; 1642 – 26.38 %
GIULIANO GUIDI votes; 344 – 5.53 %
There has always been fierce polemic whenever trees are cut down in Barga, just look at the following articles over the years; the Marine Pines outside Porta Reale 1999, pine trees 2003, the Lebanese Cedar tree 2004, pine tree 2004, the plane trees, the tiglio trees, the apple trees, last large pine trees in Barga Vecchia 2009
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Ujvkgo0Ic
2003 – Barga Vecchia was woken up this morning to the sound of a chain saw in action. One of the tallest pine trees in Barga Vecchia and one which has been leaning at an alarming angle for some time now (article here)
2004 – This morning the streets were littered with broken tiles lifted from the roofs by the gusting wind, but the most serious damage was to a parked car completely destroyed by falling branche (article here)
2004- The 30 metre tall pine tree that has stood and given shade in one of piazzas in Barga Vecchia since the late 30’s is no more. It had grown too tall and the recent storms had damaged the tree and made it too dangerous to survive.(article here)
2004 – Fosso will never be the same if the tree dies – the monumental Lebanese Cedar tree which has dominated the Fosso for around 180 is now very, very ill and looking like a tree that will have great difficulty in passing the coming winter intact. Botanical experts from Pisa University checked on the health of the ailing tree in June of this year and the comune closed off the whole area while the tests were taking place. The alarm was first raised way back in 1983 when the Cedar was named as one of the trees at risk by the author Valido Capodarca in his book Toscana, “Cento Alberi da Salvare” – “Tuscany, 100 trees to save” but it has been really only in the last 3 or 4 years that the difference in the foliage has been noticable to the non expert. (article here)
2005 – Trees in Barga …Più in alto, si ergeva la mole maestosa del ponte più grande, quello di cemento armato: i tre grandi alberi situati tra i due ponti non c’erano più. Ricordai per alcuni minuti le sensazioni piacevoli che si potevano sperimentare al loro cospetto, in ogni stagione; qualcuno, a suo tempo, mi aveva anche narrato che avevano salvato la vita a due persone che, scivolate giù, si erano aggrappate alle loro generose chiome, attutendo in qualche modo la caduta. (full article here)
2008 – Timing of pruning Plane trees questioned – This morning the plane trees on the Fosso just outside the main walls of Barga were pruned by workers for the Provincia of Lucca. (article here)
One famous politician burnt books, this one cuts down trees – not much difference in my opinion …