Barga is one of 184 Italian small towns awarded with the "Bandiera Arancione" (Orange Flag) for excellency in tourism, hospitality and the environment. The beauty of this small town in the province of Lucca made it also one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia" (Most beautiful villages in Italy).
Barga is a Medieval municipality of the Serchio Valleys in the heart of Garfagnana, a mountainous region between the Apuan Alps and the Appennines. The most ancient part of Barga is situated on the top of a hill and presents the typical features of a medieval village surrounded by defensive walls with the main church (the Cathedral or Duomo) in the center that stands on all the other constructions.
The ancient area of Barga surrounded by the walls is called Barga Vecchia, while the outside area is called Barga Giardino.
The city of Barga was historcally founded by Lombards and has remained over the centuries a quite independent city even if always under the control of other municipalities such as Lucca and Florence, that repeatedly fought to dominate the city but without ever damaging it. After the Middle Ages the time of unification of Italy, Barga escaped almost completely unharmed also by World War II when it was the scene of heavy clashes between the Resistance and the Allies by one side and the Nazi troops by the other side.
Its position on the top of a hill makes of it the ideal location from which to admire a beautiful landscape on the entire valley. Especially beautiful and amazing is the almost 360 degrees view from the terrace in front of the Cathedral of Barga in the highest peak of the village. The Cathedral - started in the 11th century - has been completed just in the 17th century and recently restructured after a heavy earthquake.
EVENTS
Such as in many Tuscan towns also in Barga takes place one of the numerous local festivals where one can taste the local food. In Barga two important festivals mainly take place: "Cena in Vignola" and the "Festival of Fish and Potatoes".
Every two years during the month of July Barga hosts the Opera Barga Festival, an international Opera festival that gives particular attention to works created during the Baroque era. Always in Barga the Bargajazz is organized, that is a competition of Arrangement and Composition for Jazz Orchestra.
CURIOSITIES
On the idea of an Irish artist who wanted to make the city directly speak to its visitors the project iBarga came to life making of this town the first Italian city fully mapped with the modern barcodes called QR codes. It is for this reason that all the buildings, monuments, churches and statues, but also bars, restaurants and shops are all equipped with a clearly visible QR code. Reading the code with a smarthphone or pad it is possible to receive detailed information about a specific place in even 10 different languages.
