Barga has a new public swimming pool and tennis courts.
The pool is in an especially lovely location with mountain views. It has
plenty of deck chairs and a bar with an arbor where simple food is served.
Slightly further than the ten minutes it takes to drive to Barga is “Il
Ciocco,” which is a large hotel on a neighboring hilltop, where there is
also a good pool and many tennis courts, as well as riding stables and
other entertainment. A third pool is located in Bagni di Lucca which is a
twenty-five minute drive from Sommocolonia. This one is nicely landscaped,
has a children’s wading pool, plenty of deck chairs and the ubiquitous
bar. Even if you don’t plan to swim, Bagni di Lucca is definitely worth a
visit. The town has an air of romantic decadence about it. It was in fact
a favorite spa at the turn of the century and before -- frequented by
Shelley and other English poets in the early nineteenth century.
THE SEA
The expansive beach at Viareggio is approximately an
hour and a quarter away by way of Lucca. Another route to arrive at the
sea is the dramatic drive over the marble mountains by way of Castelnuovo
to Forte dei Marmi -- and other coastal towns and beaches.
Castelnuovo, a partly walled town, deserves a stop, especially on Thursday
mornings when there is a big outdoor market.
LUCCA
Lucca which is about forty-five minutes away by car, is
an extraordinarily beautiful city --one of the few in the world which has
remained completely walled. The wall is so large that you used to be able
to drive around the top of it. Now it is closed to traffic so that
pedestrians can stroll and enjoy its park like atmosphere. (Bicycles are
available for rent.) Several of the streets at the center of the city are
also prohibited to automobile traffic. It is great fun to walk leisurely
down Via Fillungo at the center to see some of the most elegant shops and
architecture in Italy. While on Via Fillungo it is enjoyable to stop at an
outdoor bar or at the indoor art nouveau caffe Simi, frequented by Puccini
at the turn of the century. (Puccini was born in Lucca. Twenty minutes
outside Lucca is Torre del Lago, the lake-side village where he lived
later in life and an adjacent outdoor amphitheater where productions of
his operas are performed.) Lucca has an exquisite mixture of an aesthetic
atmosphere combined with mercantile liveliness. Apart from the world’s
most famous olive oil, Lucca is famous for its many interesting churches.
(There are guide books in the Sommocolonia house to the churches and to
the interesting villas outside of Lucca which are open to the public.)
There are also several fine restaurants in Lucca -- including one located
right on the magnificent wall.
GUIDE
Waiting for you in the house is an extensive guide to
many restaurants in the entire area, from simple, modestly priced ones to
elegant, expensive ones. (One delightful, and relatively recent,
development in the area is the proliferation of very reasonable country
restaurants in rural settings.) There are also brochures and information
on local sites and other things of interest further afield. If you do much
exploring, you will probably be able to add to the list as there are so
many unique finds in the nearby hills.
