Back on 2009 a short series of six videos appeared on youtube showing places and people here in Barga (article here)
They were placed on the net by an American filmmaker known only by their nickname of “LuchiniMaddox1″. The text with the videos stated ” This series is dedicated in memory of my grandfather, Pietro Luchini, who was born and raised in Barga, left for Scotland at age 13, ended up in Kentucky, USA, then returned to spend much of his retirement years in a home he built on the Canteo in Barga; also dedicated to my mother, Clara Luchini Maddox, who lived in Barga for 8 years as a child and teen and made sure that her children and grandchildren got to experience and understand the beauty of Barga and the Italian people and culture.”
We said then that hopefully more information about LuchiniMaddox1 would shortly be available and thanks to some detective work by Frank Viviano, who said that ” the amiable and talented Lucchini-Maddox family were in Barga this spring. I believe it was Eric who shot these lovely, wonderfully quiet videos. His mother Clara, a true Barghigiana and celebrated exponent of Italian culture in the U.S., was very nostalgic and stayed on alone for a few weeks after her two sons and their families left. She has quite a story. Pietro Luchini’s children, including Clara, travelled here from America in the late 1930s and were marooned by the war. When the Axis forces occupied Barga, they liked the Lucchinis’ Canteo house so much that they made it their officers’ club with the family as its staff. The Wehrmacht high command never knew that their suppers were being cooked by the enemy — American girls from Frankfort, Kentucky.
After a gap of three years, two more wonderful videos have just appeared on youtube featuring Clara Luchini Maddox recounting her life in Barga during the war.
Barga during the War: My Mother’s Childhood Memories (1937-1945) Chapter 1.Clara Luchini Maddox, daughter of Barga native, Pietro Luchini, tells her remembrances of living in Barga during World War II (age 8 to 16).
I have had about 3 hours of English language remembrances for years that I haven’t found time to edit.
Now that we’ve begun an Italian language version we’ve decided to just post the unedited footage for anyone that may be interested in these stories.
I hope to make an edited version one day.
Many thanks to my mom (also the mom of my brother Eric and sister Susan) for sharing her poignant stories and for being a strong, caring mother going on 83 years now.
-- Gregorio