events and news from in and around Barga (LU) Italy
The year comes full circle and once more we are nearing the end of December. What better to round off the season than some great images from O'Connor, the barganews award winning photographer. His images from December are here
A new arrival to the digital Barga scene this week as the new site for the Associazione Sportiva Barga 1924 comes on line. Now it is possible to follow the various football squads playing at the Johhny Moscardini Stadium on the internet. Their site is here
Natalecci - the bonfires of Gorfigliano
Palio dei Natalecci; every year on the 24th December the night sky in certain parts of Garfagnana is lit up with huge fires. These are the Natalecci. Huge towers, often more than 20 metres high, made up of trees and covered with branches of juniper which are then set alight.
Villages try to outdo each other by building the tallest Nataleccio or the one that burns the longest. The origins of this ceremony have long since been lost but probably dates back to a pagan rite to the god Mitra but which was then appropriated by the Christian faith and given meaning with the fires now warming up the newly born Jesus
As the church bells ring out across the valley to announce the birth of The Messiah, the people around the Nataleccio start to sing "Oh! Oh! Nataleccio! Oh! Oh! Nataleccio!" and the fires are lit. The air is then rent with the sound of fireworks, sirens, shouts and the unmistakable sound of gunshots.
More images plus an MP3 file of the sounds in and around Gorfigliano this evening can be found here
Once again the Presepe Vivente fills Barga Vecchia with a wonderful mix of images from the near past and the far past ... Roman soldiers mixing quite happily with turn of the century farm workers and biblical figures moving through school rooms from the 1930's
The final act of Mary and Joseph arriving at the stable outside the Duomo was made even more poignant this year by the addition of a very much alive infant Jesus .. the latest member of the ever present Cella family to join this well loved annual event.
The award winning barganews photographer O'Connor could be heard muttering under his breath this evening the words "Caravaggio" and "Rembrandt" One or two of the image above seems to bear out his words.
More images can be seen here
A good year for olives this year which goes some way to making up for the disastrous season of twelve months ago when a sharp frost destroyed most of the crop. Most of the farmers around Barga have reported a good harvest and in fact all of the olive mills and presses in and around the area have been fully booked for weeks as they struggle to deal with the large amount of olives coming in.
O'Connor, the award winning barganews photographer has been following the story of the humble olive from the tree to the table.
He has photographed the olives as they were being picked on the hills around Barga, as they were spread out in the barns whilst waiting to get to the mill and finally when they were turned into virgin olive oil in one of the few remaining cold press mills towards the coast at Camaiore that still use the stone mill wheels.
This concludes a two part project that he has been working on for most of the autumn documenting the position of plastic in traditions around Barga.
The first part which was published last month was about the vendemmia- the wine picking season. Most photographers when confronted with the spectacle of a traditional vendemmia would have avoided images of the plastic containers used to carry the grapes in from the fields. O' Connor made sure in his images that the plastic was not ignored and attempted to make beautiful images with the plastic in centre stage. He maintains that the plastic containers have now become part of the "traditional wine making method" so ignoring them would not be a truthful image.
The second part of this project, this time with the olive harvest, continues this theme.
His images of the olive harvest 2004 can be seen here 
A large crowd braved the cold weather this evening to join in the prize giving ceremony at Teatro dei Differenti for the best flowered balcony in Barga.
This evening also saw the performance of a new Christmas tale from Piero Nannini and Maurizio Agostini called "L'Angelo di Gesso" The pair were ably supported by the soprano Maria Carla Curia
A small MP3 file of a part of tonight's show plus more images can be found here 
A full house at the Teatro dei Differenti this evening to see HARRY TI PRESENTO SALLY with Giampiero INGRASSIA and Marina MASSIRONI
Can a man and a women just be friends ? or as Harry says, does sex make it impossible? HARRY TI PRESENTO SALLY a romantic comedy delved into this thorny question. It took Harry and Sally 11 years to come to some conclusion but finally they got there.
More images and a small MP3 file of the scene in tonight's show which brought spontaneous applause from the audience can be found here 
An artist living in Boston USA, who has been a daily reader of barganews for more than 4 years, this morning launched an unusual appeal; The arving startist - help a starving artist - desperate times call for desperate measures. From his site we can read the following words;
HELP A STARVING ARTIST
"this is not a joke. the job market for artists and designers here in boston is almost nonexistent. jobs are scarce, and what few there are available are applied for by about 150 designers and artists each time. my lack of having a job is not for a lack of trying; i apply for every job i stand a remote chance of getting. when i do get a response to a resume other than "we've received your resume and are checking it against our needs at the present time" or somesuch, i tend to get to the final selection before finding out that yet again, i did not get the job. as frustrating as it is, i push on. in my spare time, i deal with the stress of it all by making art. i have sold pretty much everything not connected to making art. i am now completely out of money."
"desperate times call for desperate measures. until i can find a job, i have decided to make an internet plea for assistance. however, unlike many internet pleas for assistance from people wishing to get out of credit card debt, i am doing this in order to maintain a residence, and i am offering something in return. as an artist, i am constantly working on making things — drawings, prints, etc. if you will donate money to help me survive, i will give you something in return. you can think of it as donating money so that someone doesn't get evicted, or you can think of it as buying a piece of art that someone made with their own hands."
"i'm not going to pretend that i'm perfect in this situation. i have made mistakes in getting myself to this point, i will freely admit that. right now it is getting serious, though. my landlord is getting to the end of his generosity. i have to start giving him something. this plea isn't something i want to do, but desperate times call for desperate measures."
His site and gallery on the net can be seen here 
Skiers who get into difficulty on the slopes at Abetone can now look to the skies for help as the Abetone Mountain Rescue team has recently been training using the helicopter at Massa Carrara. On board and part of the team was Gianmarco Marroni who sends his report which can be read here
"to raise the necessary funds we will need help from all, public institutions, credit institutions, companies and local businesses and above all, from our congregation both those resident in Italy and abroad."
Il Rettore Don Antonio Pieraccini
Shame on Barga last night. I will write that again; Shame on Barga ! How can Barga hold its head up as an Art City when events such as the concert in the Teatro dei Differenti last night drew such a small audience ? Does it really need a name from TV to fill the seats in the theatre?
What they missed last night was a varied programme and one to make people sit up and think a bit.
On the 150th anniversary of his birth, a selection of work from the composer from Lucca, Alfredo Catalani.
Catalani was well known in his time, but died when he was only 39 years old and has gradually since been forgotten as the newer "verismo" took over.
Laura Peschiera, soprano and Stefano Adabbo on pianoforte.
The second part of the programme was another less known composer, this time Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and his intermezzo in one act "Il Secreto di Susanna" from 1909.
Nicola Mugnaini, baritone, Tomoko Masuda, soprano and Marcello Panelli as the mime ably supported by the soloists from the Camera Orchestra "Luigi Boccherini" romped through one of the more startling operatic pieces seen in Barga in recent years. It has to be just the most non politically correct work on stage at the present time. It was wonderful! A story based around smoking. All three on stage puffing their way around a story of jealousy and Susan's terrible secret... the smell of smoke in her room was not left by a lover but by the footman and herself, both secret smokers.
More images and MP3 files of both performances can be downloaded here.
A change to tradition this morning in Barga Vecchia when the guests at a wedding in the Comune threw not just the usual handfuls of rice*, to wish the newlyweds good luck but the added ingredient of handfuls of pasta.
Tagliatelli and farfale rained down on the happy couple before they were whisked off to their reception. All in all it was a memorable wedding not least for the mother of the bride would slipped during the ceremony and was unfortunately taken to hospital by ambulance.
*Since early Roman times some grain - usually wheat - has been associated with the wedding ceremony. The basis for the predominant theory as to why rice and other grains, such as wheat, have played a prominent role in marriage ceremonies for centuries, is that they are fraught with symbolism of fertility and of prosperity.
Perhaps the most curious use of rice in the wedding ceremony, was its use in some cultures not to unite the happy couple, but to feed the uninvited evil spirits who always attended the ceremony. The rationale behind this practice was to ward off evil, as well-fed evil spirits would bring no harm to the blissful couple
More images here
A full house at the Teatro dei Differenti this evening to see the musical show "Amori e Brillantina" taken from the musical "Grease" by the Ragazzi di Nico.
Stefano Corazzi as Danny
Luca Giannotti as Kenickie
Lorenzo Giannotti as Sonny
Francesco Simonetti as Dody
Giacomo Marcheschi as Leo
Mariasofia Puccetti as Sandy
Lisa Lucchesi as Rizzo
Silvia Mori as Marty
Silvia Nannizzi as Franky
Martina Palagi as Jean
Giulia Lotti as Cha-Cha
Francesco Tomei as L'Angelo
Regia Katia Cosimini
More images and 2 MP3 files can be found here
This evening all across Barga could be heard the sound of "Il Doppio" the bells in the duomo being rung by teams of bell ringers to celebrate tommorows national holiday and also to mark the official start of the christmas season with the switching on of all the christmas lights in the city. A small MP3 file of the bells can be downloaded here (rightclick and save as)
One of those spontaneous occasions that somehow had an almost traditional feel to it but in reality was a one off, first time event but which will in all probability turn into a traditional event within a short space of time. Another in the series "tradition we make ourselves" ?
The regulars at Aristo's bar decided that it was a good time to roast a few chestnuts on an open fire and so they did just that . A large fire was built in the middle of the piazza and people brought their own padella's - the pans used to roast chestnuts - and off they went.
20 kilos of chestnuts were roasted over the fire along with a few kilos of sausages and even mulled wine appeared as if by magic at one point.
Music was supplied by and the ever resourceful Silvano Togneri and Geoff (who had just enough time to get away from rehearsals with the new blues band sensation in Barga - Jacks's Pack) to bring his guitar with him and sit around the fire with the rest of the toasted residents. More images here
The visit this morning by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, the Rt. Hon. Lesley Hinds, has further strengthened the historic links between Barga and Scotland.
She was here to open the exhibition "Amicizia Bargo-Scozzese" and the new living quarters for guests at San Francesco.
During her speech of welcome at the Palazzo Pancrazi she launched a new initiative for collaboration between the four cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland and Florence and Barga for Italy. More images here
The story so far;
So just what have a derelict church in Clyde Bank, Glasgow, Scotland and the new construction taking place down by the railway station at Mologno got in common?
The answer is the continuing story of exchanges between Scotland and Barga and the work of one Scotsman; Billy Connell from Glasgow. He has spent many happy summers in Barga and wanted to show his appreciation for all the time spent here. 
The perfect opportunity arose when the noticed the new bell tower at Mologno being erected ... Billy owns a derelict church; Hamilton Memorial Church in ClydeBank and he thought is would be the perfect gesture to donate the 120 year old bell inside the steeple to Barga "The most Scottish town in Italy"
Plans are now in action to transport the bell from Scotland to Barga sometime this winter in good time for the inaugaration of the new Mologno Bell tower in the spring.
images of the Hamilton Memorial Church © vistaimages.co.uk
Latest update on the bell:
The bell has been removed from the steeple in the Hamilton Memorial Church in ClydeBank, Scotland and is now ready to be transported by lorry to its final resting place in Mologno
Daily Images from the award winning photographer for barganews, O'Connor moves into November ... the year is almost over and his images are getting darker and darker as the season moves on but there are still some flashes of light to be seen ... make sure that you do not miss his stunning image of Sommocolonia lit up by the sun against the dark and brooding northern skyline ... it really is a wonderful image and one of his best. The images are here
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