Recently in Barga there has been a group of international journalists touring the area and trying to pinpoint just what it is that draws people in on their first visit and enchants them so much that they come back again and again – often uprooting themselves and actually setting up home in this area.
One of the questions that was asked over and over again was, ” so what is it that Barga actually has that made you want to plant roots here?”
The answer to that question can be very difficult as the reasons are not the same for all but talking with many of the people who have made the jump one thing does become clear and that is that they all feel that there is something very special about Barga and that they would have missed something in their life if they did not take the opportunity to participate in the life of the city.
On a bright sunlight morning in Barga Giardino sat one of the more recent arrivals and as you can hear in the short conversation below, Julie Thorburn has been smitten by Barga and has left her native Scotland to set up house and home here in Barga Vecchia.
Of all the people who have arrived in the last 10 to 15 years, her story of just how she is “carving out” her place here in Barga is by the sounds of things one of the most difficult.
She decided that her dream house was going to be on a plot in Barga Vecchia that was bombed in the last war and left as just a pile of rubble from the last 60 plus years. On top of that, access was only via some very steep steps.
Luckily she had the GeoS team of Daniel Menta and Alessandro Neri from Bagni di Lucca who specialise in restructuring and rebuilding to help her dream come true and she is now the proud owner of a beautiful three story house which is just about to open its doors to visitors to Barga as the Cielo di Barga B+B – a romantic penthouse suite in the heart of Barga Vecchia.
Guest accommodation is for two, either as one double or two singles. It occupies the entire top floor and has independent access from the little street below. There is a large ensuite bathroom with walk-in, wet-room style shower.
The double bedroom has French windows opening onto a broad balcony with breathtaking views over Barga to the Alpi Apuane and beyond. A wonderful space to relax with a book or just to sit and enjoy the beauty, the peace.
Her site is here