How to Spend a Day in Barga, Italy – Photo Essay

Barga. Beautiful Barga, Italy. It’s worthy of a much longer visit, but if you have only one day to spend, here are few items NOT to miss…

1. Il DUOMO. For such a small hill town, Barga has a plethora of churches! Nine, in fact, including the spectacular hilltop Il Duomo. The patron saint of the city is St. Christopher and the Duomo (cathedral) houses a large (3.5 m) wooden statue of his likeness. The ornately carved pulpit (12th century) was designed by Guido Bigarelli da Como, with four red marble columns resting on quite interesting lion sculptures.

2. VIEWS. The panoramic views from Barga are jaw-dropping. The colorful Tuscan rooftops against the bluest sky only accentuate far away ancient hilltop communes. Take a few minutes to catch your breath at the top – you’ll need it – those steps are steep! Gazing out over the landscape you’ll practically see history come to life.

3. FOOD. We had a beautiful light lunch at L’Osteria. The house white wine at 1.50 euro a glass was delightful! One of my new favorite foods is fresh pecorino (sheep’s cheese) with honey and walnuts…YUM! How about we let the pictures speak for themselves? 🙂

4. ART. Barga is a charming medieval village perched high in the clouds of Tuscany. Home to nearly 10,000 people and only 20 miles from Lucca, this area has become a hub for opera, theater and visual arts. However, Barga isn’t letting its ancient roots stop it from being on the forefront of advanced technology. If fact, Barga was the first medieval historic center in Italy to have all of its churches, sculptures, piazzas, bars, restaurants and other places of interest coded with QR codes to make it easy to get up-to-date information on your mobile phone in 10 different languages. This project, called iBarga, has been running successfully since 2008!

5. CATS. It was quiet on the days we explored Barga, so we were able to get close to some of the “locals” who call it home…or who are called home to dinner every evening!

6. THE CITY’S CHARM! You can feel it as you peek down tiny alleyways or peer through an ancient gate to sculptured garden…or as you smell the fragrant blossoms high up on the terraces. Even the door knockers in Barga have their own personality. Let it charm you so you can take it back home and share!

Have you ever visited Barga? What would you add to the “not-to-miss” list?