Sommocolonia

Sommocolonia, "Colony on the summit," dates back to Roman times. It is in the heart of the Garfagnana National Park overlooking the Serchio Valley and the medieval walled town of Barga it is a village of about 50 houses and 100 inhabitants.

Sommocolonia is perfect for visiting many of the wonderful places in Tuscany where you can experience the art, food, music and architecture which make up the rich Italian culture.

Some pictures of Sommocolonia are shown on this page.

From Sommocolonia, you are within easy reach of some of the more famous places in Tuscany.

Barga

You can stroll down an old Roman road to Barga, famous for it's summer music festival.

Barga has two distinct areas - Barga Vecchia and Barga Giardino. Barga Vecchia is the walled part and is a maze of small piazzas, ageless shops and galleries and narrow climbing streets which culminates in the duomo. Barga Vecchia is where you can find the Tourist Office, The Teatre dei Differente ( home of Opera Barga), and the internationally famous Caffe Capretz - famous that is to all visitors of Barganews.com.

Barga Giardino is the newer district and here is where you will find all the shops and stores to take care of all your holiday needs from banking to supermarkets, gelateria to corner shops.

The choice of restaurants will satisfy the most discernible of palates and the shopping available should cater for all holiday needs. The weekly market held each Saturday gives an opportunity for you to exeperience the best of Italian natural produce as well as a range of domestic supplies.

Barga has a cathedral originally founded in the 9th century and then added to over the next four hundred years. The duomo was severely damaged in the earthquake of 1920 and has since been restored. The church sits on the crown of the hill on around which the whole town clusters and at the front there is a terrace that gives an almost unbroken 360 degree view of the surrounding hills and valleys.

Barga has a new public swimming pool and tennis courts. The pool has lovely mountain views, plenty of deck chairs and a bar which serves food.

Grotta del Vento

Generally regarded as the best cave system in Tuscany, the Grotto del Vento is a spectacular and bizarre landscape of caverns and lakes. The caves are reached by driving along the bottom of the Turrite valley from Gallicano, directly across the river from Barga train station. There are three different daily tours through the caves from April to September lasting 1, 2, or 3 hours. Outside of these months the caves are only open on Sundays for the one hour tour. Regardless of when you are visiting try and get there early to avoid the crowds.

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana

The main market town of the area. It is a centre for outdoor pursuits e.g. walking, mountain biking etc. The old town centre and city walls are worth a visit for the less energetic. You can enjoy an espresso at one of the pavement cafes.

Lucca

The completely walled medieval heart of the city has two definite sides. By day the centre has a slow, leisurely feel which encourages you to take two hours to do something that should normally take 30 minutes. By night the city takes on a more mysterious feel. It is well worth making the effort to pay a visit just as the sun is setting.

You can hire bicycles and ride the circuit of the city walls (approximately 6km), or you may want to relax at a café table, order a coffee and watch the world go by.

Pisa

How on earth does the tower remain standing?

The tower, duomo, baptistery and cemetery are all on the same site, the Campo dei Miracoli, at Pisa is well worth a visit.

Florence

The list of things to see is endless - the Duomo and Bell tower, the Uffizi, Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace, the Boboli Gardens, and Santa Croce with the tombs and memorials to Italian national heroes; Galileo, Rossini, Puccini, Dante, amongst many others.

Abetone

A good place to visit at all times of the year. The resort has six chair lifts which are tested to the full during the skiing season.