The City of Barga was host to an international wedding this weekend when Douglas Rankine and Ginevra Benedetti were joined in matrimony in front of a large group of friends and relatives in the Duomo in Barga Vecchia. They had come from places dotted around the globe including Australia, Switzerland, USA, UK and from the homes of the two participants – Scotland and Ireland.
The wedding was performed by our own, Don Stefano and Fr David Cregan who was flown in from the USA especially for the weekend.
After the ceremony the wedding party moved back down the hill to Barga Giardino to the Hotel Villa Moorings (site here) where the reception for all the guests, numbering over 80, was in full swing and stayed that way until past midnight with music supplied by Barga’s Italian Swing band – Emma e gli Aristodemos. ( articles here)
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We will be getting married in the Duomo, which is the Romanesque cathedral at the very top of Barga Vecchia.
The service will be preformed by the fabulous Fr David Cregan.
Built in the 11th Century and added to over theproceeding 500 years, the Duomo was built using local limestone. From there you will get almost uninterrupted 360 degree views of Barga and the Serchio valley.
In the Duomo, there’s a huge wooden statue of St Christopher, patron of the city of Barga and also patron saint of travellers.
Villa Moorings
Following the wedding, we will all stroll down to the Giardino area of Barga to Villa Moorings – a 10/15 minute stroll – where the reception will take place.
Villa Moorings was built in 1924 by Leonello Castelvecchi who was originally from Barga. Leonello made his fortune selling ice cream in Largs, Scotland. His family ran a famous restaurant and ballroom called The Moorings (which Dougal’s dad Harry and his uncle Douglas used to frequent!).
Villa Moorings was built in the traditional Liberty-style and has been restored and converted into a luxury B&B by Leonello’s great granddaughter Beatrice (who now runs the place and you will no doubt bump into at some stage during the party).
Lunch will be a buffet of traditional food – focussing mainly on food from the Garfagnana area. As with all Italian meals, dinner will start with an antipasto, then it will be followed by a ‘Primo Piatto’ of pasta or risotto, then the main course and finally the dessert.
Come hungry.
– source – the wedding website of Douglas and Ginevra