From most places in Barga you can see the Duomo. As the crow flies, getting from Piazza Angelio, the main piazza in Barga is not far, you can just catch a glimpse of the tower but it is all uphill and especially in the summer heat is literally an uphill task!
I liked the angular lines in this view of the Barga Duomo and theatre. The steps give a lovely rhythm to the foreground.
This entrance to the town of Castelnuovo makes a nice dark frame to the sunlit piazza inside. The shade is a welcome resting point to the hot sunshine that continues through the day.
Many people painting or sketching this scene would delete the traffic sign as it looks ugly but that little sign makes Barga a real authentic place. It means No Parking, although no vehicles could get into this little piazza except motorcycles but a skillful Italian driver with a small car/ape would try to get there if it meant parking as close as possible to his/her destination!
The first sketch in this year long project was Aristos Bar, the epicentre of Barga, where things just suddenly happen. Normally Aristos closes around 8pm depending on who is around. Tonight after a stint manning our joint exhibition with Fiona Scott-Brown, I was surprised to see Aristos still open. A music session must have occurred!
When visitors come to Tuscany they tend to photograph the images that Tuscany is known for - cyprus trees, sunflowers, rolling hills, vines, olives, Fiat 500s, Vespas etc. but Tuscany is not a theme park, people live and work here and Barga is typically still a working normal Italian town. It just happens to be a stunning medieval hilltop town! Exposed telecom and electric cables, dented cars parked in small squares, this it is what defines the true Italy, which is what I’m trying to do with my Daily Sketches.
After many weeks without rain, we finally had a thunderstorm lasting an hour or so. Early evening there was a beautiful soft light, the sun trying to blast through the haze and the duomo just visible.
