Last weekend the celebrations for the 25th April took place not just in Barga but also included for the fourth year running, “the liberation walk” up to Sommocolonia via the old mule track. A huge participation this year with people almost queuing up at one point to go up the track.
Cloudy weather with a chill wind blowing occasionally kept people on the move but at the end of the day, most agreed it was the perfect place for a picnic and to listen to some music by the Aristodemos up by the tower in Sommocolonia. (article here)
25 APRILE 2015
Il nostro, a parer mio è uno dei modi più belli di celebrare la festa della Liberazione. Niente cortei, né discorsi politici, ma la gente, genitori giovani e meno giovani con figli e figlioletti si dà appuntamento nel mattino d’aprile, per camminare insieme verso una meta comune :la Rocca di Sommocolonia, meta significativa, non scelta a caso.
Lassù,sul bel prato verde, punteggiato di meli in fiore,si sparpagliano, stendono coperte colorate, vi si siedono al sole e bevono vino, sorridono cantano.
Le giovani madri insegnano ai loro piccoli a battere le mani al ritmo dell’orchestrina, la fisarmonica , il mandolino, il contrabbasso.
I più grandicelli si rotolano giù per il poggio erboso, mentre i cani, liberi dal guinzagloi, sembrano impazzire dall’eccitazione, dalla frenesia della libertà.
LA LIBERTA’. E’ qui nei colori e nelle voci di questo prato .E’ questo stare gomito a gomito, liberi dalla paura e dalla diffidenza .
E’ la gioia che passa da uno all’altro, senza chiedersi di cosa sia fatta , ma con la netta percezione che ci viene da lontano, che è costata un prezzo altissimo e che per questo è un bene irrinunciabile.
Su questo prato, all’ombra della Rocca, non si parla della Libertà – Si vive la Libertà.. – Graziella Cosimini
All in all, it was a perfect cultural event full of positive energy showing that there is great hope for the future of this country BUT just a few kilometres away due North of this event was another taking place which clearly was showing the exact opposite. Somethings are still very wrong and need to be addressed.
Somebody had dumped a pile of metal canisters, plastic containers and assorted building materials and set fire to them in a small clearing in the woods above Sommocolonia. The smell of the burning rubbish drifted through the trees and could be detected a good 25 -- 30 metres away but the most damaging thing was the fact that included in the smouldering heap were sheets of Eternit -- asbestos roofing material.
Eternit is a registered trademark for fibre cement. The name “Eternit” is sometimes used as a generic term for fibre cement, but in fact it is a trademark for a brand of fibre cement, currently owned by the Belgian company Etex.
The 2009 Eternit lawsuit (re asbestos exposure in Italy) in which the prosecutors charged that the defendants were responsible for the deaths of over 2000 people in northern Italy, including residents, factory workers and their families, who may have been exposed to asbestos fibres -- more information here
Burning Eternit -- asbestos roofing material can be hazardous as the toxic asbestos fibres become airborne.
Exposure to asbestos fibres can cause a variety of respiratory illnesses, including asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer.