Regular readers will by now already be aware thanks to the very prominent banner right at the top of the front page of the giornaledibarganews site that there is something new just about to happen in Barga.
The groundbreaking work done by Ron and Susie Gauld at the very successful Casa Fontana pointed the way for a new kind of tourism in the city – bed and breakfast which supplied the possibility for a more personal relationship for visitors to Barga than that offered by most rented accommodations.
In fact one of the overriding factors in this success story of Casa Fontana has been a huge amount of returning visitors. They don’t just come to the city once but return over and over again. In effect no longer tourists but visitors or guests.
Parallel with the increase in visitors has been the blossoming of the restaurant trade. 15 years ago it was very difficult to find a place to eat in the Barga Vecchia – you basically had the choice of one restaurant. Now during the summer, there is a large choice of restaurants and bars offering many types of cooking ranging from traditional through to the more adventurous.
The success of the Hotel Villa Moorings down at Barga Giardino was another positive sign that the increase in visitors to Barga could be maintained. The city was moving forward and away from tourists who arrived in the morning and then left in the afternoon to return to their hotels further down the valley at Lucca.
At this point of the story in steps Walter Tognocchi who in his words says “One evening – it was an enchanting evening indeed – I was having a delicious dinner in the restaurant “Scacciaguai”. My friends Riccardo, Chiara and Nicola, the restaurateurs, told me almost by chance that the rooms on the first floor were for sale. Maybe the good wine has to be blamed for that, or maybe the beautiful moon that shone so bright and near, as to kiss the Apuan mountains… Perhaps it was simply the Destiny: so that night I decided to leave a piece of myself right here, where I had always found the Best and the most Beautiful ever. If the restaurant on the ground floor had the skill to chase the troubles (that’s the Italian meaning of Scacciaguai), I could nothing but call my project Acchiappasogni Dream-catcher: the opportunity to have as a guest other travellers like me filled me with joy. These rooms have the names of the lights, the lights of the dreams and their frame: Dreamcatcher!”
The luxury bed and breakfast Acchiappasogni opens this Saturday at 6pm at Via di Mezzo 21, Barga Vecchia.
A single-masted vessel on a mountain top: that is the town coat of arms. St. Christopher, protector of the travellers, is the patron saint of Barga. This town was a point of reference for the pilgrims and wayfarers on the Via Francigena. The Knights Templar and the Medici’s dynasty enriched this town with spirit, art, beauties and truth.
I am a traveller, a seeker, the vessel on the mountain perfectly identifies me: I can’t swim!
I discovered Barga as a child and I immediately fell in love with it. Life has brought me here so many times, and I wasn’t able to catch the deep feeling I had with this wonderful town, to recognize the codes we shared.
One evening – it was an enchanting evening indeed – I was having a delicious dinner in the restaurant “Scacciaguai”. My friends Riccardo, Chiara and Nicola, the restaurateurs, told me almost by chance that the rooms on the first floor were for sale. Maybe the good wine has to be blamed for that, or maybe the beautiful moon that shone so bright and near, as to kiss the Apuan mountains… Perhaps it was simply the Destiny: so that night I decided to leave a piece of myself right here, where I had always found the Best and the most Beautiful ever. If the restaurant on the ground floor had the skill to chase the troubles (that’s the Italian meaning of Scacciaguai), I could nothing but call my project Acchiappasogni Dream-catcher: the opportunity to have as a guest others travellers like me filled me with joy. These rooms have the names of the lights, the lights of the dreams and their frame: Dreamcatcher! – Walter Tognocchi – source – http://www.acchiappasognibarga.com
It has been a kind of a private joke in Barga over the past few years that whenever the word “competition” or “competitor” is raised, the reply has always been: there are no competitors in Barga as we are all in strict collaboration.
In fact the founding of this site after the merger of giornaledibarga.it and barganews.com was based on precisely that concept of working together is a far more efficient and pleasurable experience for all concerned.
The arrival of a new business offering services to a new client base can only be looked at as a step forward in the gradually evolving tourism business.
We need more beds in the city and more services.
Maybe now is the time that somebody should be looking at the old Hotel Villa Libano, which has been deserted and unused for years but still listed in many tourist guides.