Imagine a medieval hill town in Tuscany. A Romanesque cathedral on top. Narrow lanes, old doors, mountains all around. Then imagine half the people you meet have a cousin in Glasgow. That’s Barga.
It’s a town of doors, grand carved ones, faded green ones, ones with knockers shaped like faces, and I could spend a whole afternoon there with my camera and not get bored. Here’s my guide to Barga and its villages.
Barga quick facts
- Province: Lucca
- Population: 9,293 for the whole comune, including Fornaci di Barga and the hill villages (ISTAT estimate, 1 January 2026)
- Altitude: about 410 metres
- Nearest station: Barga-Gallicano, down in the valley at Mologno, about 4 km away
- Lucca: about 37 km by road, roughly 45 minutes
- Pistoia: about 75 km by road, roughly an hour and a quarter
- Florence: about 106 km by road, roughly an hour and a half
Visiting Barga
Getting there and parking
By car, head north from Lucca up the Serchio valley, past Borgo a Mozzano and its Devil’s Bridge, which is worth a stop on the way. There’s parking below the old town. By train, take the Lucca to Aulla line to Barga-Gallicano, about 40 to 50 minutes from Lucca, then the local bus or a taxi up the hill. Check the bus times, especially on Sundays. Pisa is the handier airport.
- Pisa or Florence airport to Lucca, Pescia and Pistoia
- Getting around Tuscany: trains, buses or driving?
- Trains, buses and how not to get fined
- Driving in Tuscany: ZTL zones, fines, tolls and car hire
Good to know
- Trains. Lucca to Barga-Gallicano takes 40 to 57 minutes direct. The station is down in the valley, so you’ll need the bus or a taxi up to the old town.
Sources: Trenitalia timetables (checked October 2026).
A short history of Barga
Barga sits in the Serchio valley, between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines. In the Middle Ages it was caught between Lucca and Pisa, which besieged it again and again, and in the 14th century it chose to put itself under Florence instead.
That made Barga a Florentine island in a valley that mostly belonged to Lucca, and it’s part of why it feels a little different from its neighbours. The Medici valued it for its raw materials and gave it privileges and tax breaks, and the town had its best years. The old gate, Porta Reale, is named after Grand Duke Leopold, who visited in 1787.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s many people left Barga and the Serchio valley to find work, a lot of them in Scotland, especially Glasgow and the towns around it. They opened cafés, ice cream parlours and fish and chip shops. Plenty came back, and the family links are still strong. The poet Giovanni Pascoli lived nearby from 1895 and wrote about the sound of Barga’s bells.
What to see in Barga
The old town. Leave the car below and walk up through the Castello, the old town, to the Duomo. It’s steep, so wear proper shoes. Go in through the Porta Reale and just wander.
Caffè Capretz. In the old market loggia on Piazza Salvi. It opened in 1870, and Pascoli used to drink there. Stop for a coffee.
The Duomo di San Cristoforo. Romanesque, and built in stages over several centuries, starting before the year 1000. The lawn in front looks straight out over the rooftops to the Apuan Alps. Sit on the wall for ten minutes. You’ve earned it.
Teatro dei Differenti. A lovely little theatre from 1795.
Casa Pascoli. A few kilometres away, in Castelvecchio Pascoli, the poet’s house is kept much as he left it, with his study and garden. It’s closed on Mondays and hours change with the seasons, so check before you go. All of this is in my Barga day trip.
The villages of Barga
Barga’s comune runs from Fornaci di Barga, down by the river, up to mountain villages like Sommocolonia, Renaio and Tiglio. The one most visitors know is Castelvecchio Pascoli, for the poet’s house (not to be confused with my Castelvecchio above Pescia). For more of the valley, see my guide to the Garfagnana.
All the villages of Barga (30)
Albiano, Bardani, Biagi, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Catagnana, Conti, Diversi, Filecchio, Fornaci di Barga, Frascone, Giannini, Il Ciocco, Loppia di Sopra, Loppia di Sotto, Mologno, Nebbiana, Orsucci, Pedona, Pegnana, Pian di Gragno, Ponte all’Ania, Ponte Catagnana, Renaio, San Pietro in Campo, Santa Maria, Sommocolonia, Stefanetti, Tiglio, Tiglio Alto, Tiglio Basso
For the neighbouring towns, see Villages of Lucca province.
Food and festas
Yes, there’s a fish and chips festival. The Sagra del Pesce e Patate runs for a couple of weeks from late July into August. Check the dates for your year before you go. Barga is also on the edge of chestnut country, so autumn brings necci and castagnaccio: see chestnut season in Tuscany and what to eat in the Lucca and Pistoia hills. For more festas, my sagre and festivals month by month has plenty.
Where to stay
Barga makes a good base for the Serchio valley and the Garfagnana, though you’ll want a car. For the bigger picture, my where to stay in Tuscany guide weighs up villages, towns and agriturismi, and where to stay near Lucca and the Svizzera Pesciatina covers my old patch.
Useful numbers
In any emergency, call 112. The big hospital for the area is the Ospedale San Luca in Lucca, on Via Guglielmo Lippi Francesconi, with a 24-hour Pronto Soccorso (A&E).
Every other number you might need, from the doctor to the train strike line, is in my useful numbers in Tuscany post.
Map
Barga is one of the towns of Lucca province. See Barga on the Lucca page, or browse all of Villages of Tuscany.
Susan x
Photo credits: The Duomo di San Cristoforo at the top of the old town (photo: Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons); Barga on its hill, with the Apuan Alps behind (photo: Sertummi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). All other photos are my own.