A little corner of Italy that is forever Scotland
Barga in Tuscany has strong ties to Scotland reaching back over 180 years as families moved back and forth, says Alison Campsie
It’s a beautiful evening in Barga as the sun blasts its last light off the pink and yellow buildings that wind up to the 11th century Cathedral of San Cristoforo when suddenly the sound of the bagpipes starts to tremble through the warm air.
However foreign Scotland the Brave sounded in the moment, pipes and Barga are, however, not an odd pair.
The town has forged a deep connection with Scotland over 180 years or so, with the push and pull of migration creating a flow of families between Barga to towns and villages up and down Scotland, with the majority settling on the west coast.
By-products of this long connection are all around in Barga, where you’ll find Irn Bru and oatcakes in the traditional bakery and the football boots of Celtic striker Moussa Dembélé hanging up in Bar del Paologas, whose owner grew up on Byres Road. Glaswegian accents pop up at every turn.
A trip to the vineyard on the outskirts of the town brings a story from the assistant of the three happy months he spent peeling potatoes at a chippie in Irvine, which is owned by friends of his parents.
The piper playing in Barga was found outside Villa Gherardi, a hostel set in a 16th century mansion that is run by Adele Pierotti and her husband.
Adele’s great-grandfather left Tuscany for Scotland in 1886 to work in the mines of Lanarkshire with her parents later born in Scotland. It was in Glasgow that Adele met her husband, Riccardo, also from Barga, at Casa d’italia social club near Kelvingrove Park.
The two married and ran a restaurant in Bearsden for more than ten years but the couple returned to Barga in the late eighties, drawn by family ties.
Adele said: “Barga is my home but you don’t really have to choose between here and Scotland, both are part of you.
“All my children were born in Italy but they feel that Scottish connection very strongly. They feels Scots Italian. When I am in Glasgow, I blend in very quickly.”
Many Barghigiani are said to have left home intending to travel to America, but ended their journeys in Scotland after seeing industry and opportunity.
Families set up fish and chip shops and ice cream parlours, including the ancestors of actress Daniella Nardini and singer Paulo Nutini, while others sought jobs in mines, docks and textile factories with the post Frist World War period signalling a great movement of people.
Such was the scale of this new community, Glasgow was one of the few places outside of Italy to produce a daily newspaper in Italian.
Ralph Ercolini, 62, has run La Bottege del Pane for more than 20 years. He was born in Glasgow but his mother and father are both from Barga, with the couple meeting in Glasgow after travelling there separately.
“Me and my sister decided to come to Barga in the 1980s. It was easy because its always been part of our family. Every year we would come here to pass the summer. It’s always been part of my life,” he said.
Mr Ercolini recalls days and nights at the Casa D’italia where parents would spent hours over dinner in the restaurant upstairs and the young ones would meet in the discothèque.
Mr Ercolini said: “We used to meet there every Sunday. As you got older were used to race with our Fiats and Alfa Romeos from the Casa’ D’italia to Glasgow Airport. The police were always chasing us.”
The bakery owner spoke no English when he started school as his father always spoke Italian at home.
“I feel a bit more Italian than Scottish. I always have as my father brought me up that way.”
Every year, a three week Fish and Chip Festival, organised in tribute to the townspeople who left for Scotland, is held in the town. In summer, The School of Scottish Song, Music & Dance travels to the town, which was long promoted by late artist John Bellany, whose studio and gallery is in the Piazza Angelio. Barga is also twinned with several towns in East Lothian, the birthplace of the painter.