Celebrations for St Christopher the Patron Saint of Barga took place today with the “San Cristoforo d’oro” awards ceremony and a long torchlight procession through the streets of Barga up to the Duomo.
The Premio San Cristoforo d’Oro (Golden St Christopher medals) named for Barga’s ancient patron, Saint Christopher, are presented each year to celebrate extraordinary contributions to the town and its people.
Mayor Marco Bonini said the awards recognised people who had helped to raise Barga’s profile across the world.
It was important that we did something to honour the citizens of Barga. Many places do it but Barga was not one of them so we decided to use our patron saint as a symbol of pride and identity for the town. Every year we honour people who have stood out and done something in Barga or across the world.
The S. Cristoforo D’oro was awarded to the sportswoman Sara Morganti (articles about Sara can be seen here), the rugby player, Giorgio Biagi (article about Giorgio can be seen here) and the S. Cristoforo D’oro Special ward was presented to the actor Alessandro Bertolucci.
More images from this event can be seen on the barganews Facebook page