The pandemic has meant that many of the cultural events which normally take place in Barga have be curtailed or reduced.
Most of the traditional processions have been cancelled and live music in the piazzas after for the most part, a thing of the past.
Art events have been taking place with one or two exhibitions in the comune gallery and of course in the centre for contemporary art – the Oxo Gallery in Barga Vecchia but for visitors who are looking for more visual experiences, it has been a thin time.
But during this time there has been an artist working non-stop on his creations and showing his progression of work to the public.
Not in a traditional gallery as he is not what could be termed a traditional artist but instead probably falls into the category of ” outsider artist”
“Operazione Gudrun” has been taking place all summer in the Parco Buozzi just below Barga Vecchia.
Parco Buozzi – one of the more hidden places in Barga – perfect for anybody searching for some peace and quiet in the winding paths through the trees just below the walls of Barga Vecchia .
Last month we published an article concerning an unknown artist who had started an installation and which he or she had named “Operazione Gudrun” – a laboratory which totally and creatively recycles waste rubbish and production surplus.
No information is available as to the identity of the person or why it is named “Operazione Gudrun ”
Gudrun is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingian dynasty, Brunhilda of Austrasia and Fredegund.
Beautiful hand painted sticks are appearing in various places around the park and rubbish has been collected and bagged up.
Who ever the person is, he or she should be applauded for adding to the cultural life of this city and making people stop and think for a moment about just what is important in this life .
UPDATE
Since then the work has started to spread out over the park and now includes other painted objects set up in situ in various locations.
The Parco Buozzi – some background stories
The Parco Buozzi has a long story going back to 2006 when there was a public meeting in the Palazzo Pancrazi to mark the start of a long-term project here in Barga. The meeting was billed as “incontro di lavoro” for an “emergenza ambientale” and was chaired by the sottosegretario di Stato ai Beni e Attività Culturali, the Hon. Andrea Marcucci. (article here)
Present at the meeting were also Marco Bonnini, President of Communità Montana, Stefano Baccelli , President of the Provincia di Lucca and members of Regional Government. It was announced that there was a real danger of large-scale structural damage due to landslides in the area just below Barga Vecchia known as Fontanamaggio, Val di Lago and Parco Buozzi. A plan was put forward involving shoring up the areas at risk and filling in the bottom of the valley to stop the sides from falling inwards.
A year later in 2007 work had already started shoring up the road around Barga Vecchia and as new public money arrived the project then moved onto the next stage where larger construction and consolidation work took place. (article here) It is more than likely that the Sereni administration and then the the Bonini administration will be remembered in the future for being involved in what will probably be the largest bio engineering project ever undertaken in this area. It would not be an over exaggeration to say that at the completion of this project, costing over €13 million, Barga as we know it, would never be the same again.
By 2008, the work was almost finished (article here) and two years later in 2010 it became much clearer just what was being constructed in the area.
A series of lit walkways and paths with wooden handrails winding down into the park and an area close to the bottom that was a kind of amphitheatre with stepped seating. Barga now had new space ready for outside theatre, concerts and other events in the open. (article here)
The park was opened ten years ago this week on the 5th July 2010 to the sound of live music, speeches with cut ribbons and applause (article here)
The then Mayor of Barga, Marco Bonini talking about the Parco Buozzi at the official opening
Unfortunately during the following decade, not a lot of maintenance work was ever done to the park and it has gradually decayed and started to look very sorry for itself.
Maybe now is the time when the administration could think about some maintenance on the now gradually decaying park.
