The Cathedral of Barga: history, art and spirituality in the three centuries after the year 1000
The picture on the left shows the People who took part to this inportant meeting: from left to right in the photograph: Pier Giuliano Cecchi, Antonio Nardini, Gian Carlo Marroni, Stefano Borsi, Pier Carlo Marroni and representing the Barga Town Council: Giovanna Stefani.
Now the book is Avaible.
If you want a copy of it, please contact us (price €15 each).
Now the book is Avaible.
If you want a copy of it, please contact us (price €15 each).
This is what the President of the Province of Lucca thinks about the Book
“Our history is our memory. Remembering what has been, what our ancestors created and the reasons which inspired the construction of certain works of art or monuments helps us to understand the present and discover its secrets and hidden meanings.
This is why I welcome with great satisfaction a publication on the history of a sacred place such as the Cathedral of Barga, with contributions from authoritative experts and scholars who explain, in a clear, direct and detailed way, not only the origins of this monument but also the delicate phases of its restoration.
This small volume offers a wealth of details on the history of the Cathedral, and on a long period of the history of the City of Barga and its people, through stories and events, legends and facts, and symbols and eye-witness accounts. Together with the description of the restoration works, the religious significance of St. Christopher and the meaning of the symbolism of the sculptures of the Cathedral, the section dedicated to the search for traces of the Templars stands out in the way it interweaves with the narration of the enlargement of the building. St. Christopher is the protector-saint of travellers and pilgrims who, on their journeys faced mountains, rivers and other obstacles which they had to overcome, and our church is dedicated to him.
I would like to give special thanks, not only from a professional but also a personal point of view, to the authors of this volume, to the Polisportiva Val di Lago and to all those who have contributed to this publication which, I am sure, will make an important addition to the many works which have been written on the history of the Cathedral and on the City of Barga”.
This is why I welcome with great satisfaction a publication on the history of a sacred place such as the Cathedral of Barga, with contributions from authoritative experts and scholars who explain, in a clear, direct and detailed way, not only the origins of this monument but also the delicate phases of its restoration.
This small volume offers a wealth of details on the history of the Cathedral, and on a long period of the history of the City of Barga and its people, through stories and events, legends and facts, and symbols and eye-witness accounts. Together with the description of the restoration works, the religious significance of St. Christopher and the meaning of the symbolism of the sculptures of the Cathedral, the section dedicated to the search for traces of the Templars stands out in the way it interweaves with the narration of the enlargement of the building. St. Christopher is the protector-saint of travellers and pilgrims who, on their journeys faced mountains, rivers and other obstacles which they had to overcome, and our church is dedicated to him.
I would like to give special thanks, not only from a professional but also a personal point of view, to the authors of this volume, to the Polisportiva Val di Lago and to all those who have contributed to this publication which, I am sure, will make an important addition to the many works which have been written on the history of the Cathedral and on the City of Barga”.
Stefano Baccelli
A Cathedral and its City
The Cathedral of Barga is a Romanesque monument of singular construction and extraordinary fascination. For more than a thousand years it, alone, has had the power to exemplify to its visitors the importance of the summit on which it stands (the Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli, 1855-1912, called it “the Acropolis of Barga”). This summit was the first nucleus of Barga and from its height we can see the red roofs of the city spreading out below us: first, the large, ancient boundary of the fortifications, guardian of yet more mediaeval memories, and then the present-day town-centre known by its similarly ancient name of the “Giardino (garden) of Barga”. From the vantage point of the churchyard parapets (the solid, crenellated walls of the fortifications built by the Rolandinghi family – the overlords of the area -during the 10th and 11th centuries), we have the opportunity to admire a splendid panorama of the Valley, forged by the River Serchio, and the Garfagnana - a large, natural “basin” enclosed, to the west, by the rocky chain of the Apuan Alps and, to the east, by the verdant Apennines, dotted here and there with dozens of towered villages which peep out from afar and in which other artistic treasures are tucked away.
The Cathedral of Barga (to the people of Barga, the “Temple”) is the brightest jewel in this treasure chest of history and nature. For the local economy it is an important visiting card which attracts numerous tourists, drawn by the fascinating beauty of the building and its sculptures, large and small, of which the 13th century pulpit attributed to Guido da Como is the finest example.
The Cathedral is the outcome of a number of different construction phases which had as their starting point a small church built prior to the year 1000, to which a first enlargement was added on the north side, towards the end of the 12th century, significantly altering the orientation of the church. In the following century, on this new axis, a further lengthening took place, to be followed in the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries by the construction of three chapels which completed the building.
Observing the Cathedral from the outside with its irregular profile (the result of the various construction stages), we can only agree with what the archaeologist and art historian Corrado Ricci (1858-1934) – an attentive visitor - said about it: “it is the most distinctive cathedral in the world”. These words are significant insofar as they reveal the efforts of the people of Barga in their desire to have an impressive building which, in earlier times, had to be adapted according to a mix of exigencies, both sacred and defensive, which the stormy historical events of the time made advisable.
The sentiment behind the construction of the Cathedral can be found inscribed on a stone slab on the door of the bell tower. The slab is of the same material, the “alberese of Barga” (a fine-grained, calcareous, sedimentary stone), as that used in the 12th and 13th centuries in the construction of the building. The inscription repeats a few poetical lines written at the beginning of the 20th century by Giovanni Pascoli, who lived, died and was buried in the Barga area. It was placed in position at the completion of the major restoration of the building which took place from 1927 to 1939. It reads: “In the time before 1000, the people of Barga lived on chestnuts, and they built the cathedral saying: In my house I have only bare floorboards. Blessed be the name of liberty, for our cathedral has what is great, with the most beautiful marble pulpit that ever was seen. They said: what is mine is small; what is ours is great”.
If this inscription takes us back to before the year 1000, it is undoubtedly true that the history of Barga has much deeper roots, going back to before the birth of Christ. At that time, the entire valley, from its entrance in Ponte a Moriano to its furthest point on the borders of the Lunigiana, was inhabited by the Ligurian tribes, a people who lived in an area of South West Europe stretching from the River Ebro in Spain to the plain of the River Po in Italy and which included the Valley of the Garfagnana. The Ligurian tribes lived in large, permanent, settlements and are known today in the Barga area as the “Apuani”.
The presence of the Ligurian tribes in the Barga area is evidenced by the discovery of numerous tombs, in 1968, in Val di Vaiana (a veritable necropolis situated at a height of 700 metres) and, in 1974, on Monte Ceneri at 600 metres, both sites dating back to the second and third centuries BC. Prior to that, in 1492, a tomb was discovered at 200 metres in Caterozzo in the lower part of the Barga area on the River Serchio.
Roman expansion found a serious obstacle in these proud and warlike tribes, such that more than one attempt at subjugation was necessary, often ending badly for the Roman Eagle. Out of revenge, the tribes even besieged the Roman strongholds ofPisaandPiacenza, until 180 BC when they were forced to capitulate. In order to be able to govern the conquered territory (which included that of the “Apuani” – a bellicose people because lovers of liberty)Romedeported them en masse to the Sannio region (betweenAbruzzo,MoliseandCampania). As they were about to leave their land with its tombs which held the ashes of their ancestors and their citadels – amongst which, it is said, that of Barga on which the Cathedral stands today – the entire group let out a mournful cry which echoed from peak to peak of the surrounding mountains. At one time they numbered 40,000; at the end, only 3000 remained.
If this is the oldest story of the valley which hosts Barga, the name of the city itself has roots which go back much further in time. According to etymologists, the name “Barga” derives from the languages spoken by the pre-indoeuropeans during the thousands of years before the birth of Christ, and means “hut”, “shelter” or “mount”. Given the nature of the rise on which the fortified area of Barga stands, the latter would appear to be the best interpretation, even if the agricultural wealth of the area, amongst the best in the valley, would fit well with the idea of a settlement of huts of these ancient inhabitants, progenitors of the Ligurian tribes.
Going back to the forced exodus of the Ligurian tribes of 180 BC,Romesubsequently sent in to this territory (which they wanted uninhabited) its own colonists, apportioning them land for cultivation.
To the north of Barga is situated the ancient fortification of Sommocolonia. The origin of this name goes back to the time when Roman colonists settled there and which, because of its position at 700 metres, took the name of “Summa Colonia” (“the colony on high” or “the highest of all”). There are, however, other places whose name clearly derives from Ancient Roman families: Tiglio (Attilius), Albiano (Albius), Mologno (Volumnius), Seggio (Seius), Pedona “sex Pedonis”, Gragno “Granii”, Castelvecchio (Casco Balbus), Catagnana (Catagnanus), etc. (Riccardo Ambrosini, Lucca e il suo Territorio – Topomastica, Dialettologia, ecc. – Lucca 2006).
The first reference that we have to Barga dates from this Roman period, although not all historians agree on this point. This reference is to be found on a bronze tablet, the “Tabula Alimentaria” (a sort of land inventory), which was unearthed in the region ofPiacenzain 1747 and which dates back to the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). As well as listing the names of Roman families, most of them fromLucca, it also cites the “saltus praediaque Bargae”, i.e. ownership of the pastures and fields of the Barga area.
In 275 AD, Roman Barga, like the whole of the Garfagnana, became Christian, “St. Eutichiano of Luni exalted to the apostolic throne” as Paolucci puts it in his “Illustrated Garfagnana” of 1720. As a consequence, Christian places of worship began to spread throughout the area, slowly substituting the earlier “Gentile” temples.
During the 5th century, the Romans, now Byzantines, were swept away by the invasions of barbarians from the north of Europe. It was the Longobards in the 6th century who, moving down the Italian Peninsular, finally settled in the north and centre. This included the Valley of the Serchio andTuscany (from 574 AD the Duchy of Tuscia) which was then divided betweenFlorence,Pisa andLucca, the latter becoming the nerve centre.
During the Longobard period, we know that Barga had a significant number of inhabitants. The confirmation of this can be found in a notary deed of the 11th century conserved in the State Archives of Siena. This deed is a copy of a “Charta Dotis” (Act of Donation) of the year 754 AD which records a number of donations which Walfredo di Ratchauso made towards the building of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter in Palazzuolo (Monteverdi Marittimo, Province of Pisa), including some houses which he owned in Barga, Lupinaria (Lupinaia), Gluvezano (Ghivizzano), Ghermio and Sarachaniano (Silicagnana). Walfredo (later Saint Walfredo) was the founder of the Abbey and son of the Longobard Ratchausi, the King’s Administrator inPisa and founding head of the Gherardesca family.
Precisely the influential paternity of Walfredo, son of Ratchausi, leads us to believe that the “Charta Dotis” of 754 is a tacit declaration that Barga was, at that time, a Longobard stronghold with houses, probably, huddled around a church. Some of these houses are included in the Act of Donation whilst others are excluded, as was the church itself which, undoubtedly, was desired and built after the arrival in thevalleyofChristianityand which was expressly dedicated to that religion. The document which we cite in the following paragraph bears, to some extent, witness to this.
The planned church was without doubt under the authority of the near-by Pieve (ParishChurch) of Loppia (2 kms from Barga) which was the mother church of the Garfagnana, an area covering today’s Coreglia, Barga and Fosciandora. The construction of this church is thought to date back to the time of Frediano, Bishop of Lucca, thus to the late second half of the 6th century. However, the first document which confirms the existence of the Pieve of Loppia carries the date 764 AD (A. Arc.le.Lucca) and here we also find Barga being mentioned as under the Pieve’s direct ecclesiastical jurisdiction (L. Stefani: “La Pieve di S. Maria Assunta di Loppia” – 2008). This document states that even in the year 754 AD a church existed in Barga.
In 774 AD it was the turn of the Longobards to be defeated at the hands of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, who took the title of King of the Longobards. After their oath of allegiance, he left vast areas of the territory under their partial government including the Duchy of Tuscia, now transformed into the “Marca of Tuscia”, i.e. border region. In 990 AD, inLucca, the “Longobard government” concession ceased. A few years earlier, in 983 AD, the Bishop of Lucca, Teudegrimo (983-987 AD) conceded to the Rolandinghi family ofLucca(thought to be of Longobard origin) the ecclesiastical control of the Pieve of Loppia, re-confirmed in 994 AD by Bishop Gherardo (991-1003).
From that date, the seignory (the overlordship) of the Rolandinghi spread throughout the lands around the Pieve of Loppia, amongst which was certainly Barga. This is evidenced in a document of 1048 in which Uberto di Rodilando stated that he was lord, with house, lands and church, of the citadel of Barga (L. Angelini “Una PieveToscana nel Medioevo” – 1979). However, their influence was reduced somewhat with the rise to the regency of the “Marquisate of Tuscany” of the “Attoni” family, the powerful feudal lords of Canossa whose control extended overModena, Reggio dell’Emilia andMantua, and who were second in power only to the emperor.
In fact, Barga (as described by G. Cappelletti in his “Le Chiese d’Italia dalla loro Origine, etc. – Vol XVI, Venice 1861) was a “Vicaria dei Re d’Italia” and was to receive even greater privileges under the Attoni dynasty, especially from the daughter of Boniface of Canossa and Beatrice of Lotaringia, the Countess Matilde of Canossa (1046-1115).
The presence of the powerful lords of Canossa in the territory of Barga and their territories in Modena and Reggio dell’Emilia, linked by the ancient road that leads up to Sommocolonia crossing the Apennines at the Saltello Pass, is confirmed by an inscription which was placed on the Pieve of Loppia after one of its major restorations, but which today has disappeared. The inscription commemorated Beatrice’s donations towards the restoration and bears the date1058 (Bib.ca di Stato,Lucca: Baroni, ms.1016).
Another inscription, dated 1071, referred to Beatrice’s daughter Matilde, and commemorated the construction of the tower and fortress of Sommocolonia, sited above Barga. It was inscribed on one of the bells in the belltower of thechurchofSt Fredianoin Sommocolonia but is lost to us today because it was melted down at some time in the past.
When Beatrice’s second husband (Gotfredo il Barbuto) died in 1069, Matilde assisted her mother in the government of the Marquisate of Tuscany up until her mother’s death in 1076 when she inherited the title.
As Countess, in 1090, Matilde granted special privileges and immunities to Barga. These were reconfirmed, in 1185, by the emperor Frederick Barbarossa in a document sent to his loyal “Consuls” and to all the people of Barga in which he declared and promised that all the good customs and laws enjoyed by the inhabitants since the time of the Countess Matilde, of happy memory, would continue to be observed by him through his representatives.
Matilde died in 1115 without direct heirs and this gave rise to the dispersion of her considerable patrimony which, for a number of years, had been conferred on her by the emperor Henry V in her quality as Queen of Italy and Papal Representative. In fact, several different attempts at possession ensued, amongst which the appropriation, by the Holy See, of Matilde’s territories in the Garfagnana which included Barga. Frederick Barbarossa, in the height of the struggle between Empire and Papacy, had peremptorily claimed his right of succession in the 1185 document cited above, firstly with an ordinance to the whole population of the Garfagnana, Barga included, then, repeated in the same year after a few months, to Barga alone. With this document, the Garfagnana entered, de facto, into the vortex of the struggle between Pope and Emperor.
This important imperial document, addressed solely to Barga, declared that the Empire recognised the city as the capital and major fortification of the entire Garfagnana region, hence its leadership of all the other fortifications and inhabited areas. As a result, Barga, armed with the imperial authority expressed by various emissaries, led a united Garfagnana in the struggle for its longed-for freedom from the interferences of Luccawhich was determined to expand its domain. From the upper reaches of the valley, the ancient territory of the “Lessigoni” echoed the spirit: Castiglione, Coreglia, Controne, Ghivizzano and Ceserana met in a parliament in the citadel-church of Barga – enlarged for the first time in the 12th century and dedicated to the Saints James and Christopher – to deliberate on the best way of resisting the encroaching interference of Lucca. The outcome was an alliance withPisa in a complicated “tapestry” of situations very difficult to unweave.
Luccawas not the only city to be attracted by the conquest of these lands – for the simple reason that here there was a natural resource very sought-after at that time: immense woodlands which rose to significant heights above the River Serchio, which were exploited for commercial purposes (amongst which shipbuilding) and which constituted the wealth of the local population.
This fact of the “free succession” of Matilde’s territories also gave rise, in Barga, to a “public administration” aimed at a free Commune which would autonomously create its own regulations and which the Papal authority would accept, as the Emperor had accepted in 1185. It was in this period that the idea to enlarge the small church of the citadel (which a document of 996 AD records as being dedicated to St. Vitus) took shape.
However, because of the alleged bequests made by Matilde and in the light of the struggle between Pope and Emperor, the Church of Rome was not going to relinquish the chance of having the Garfagnana and Barga under its control. Such was the inducement, that it dedicated itself totally to helping the city (and these other territories) to keep the interference ofLuccaat bay. In fact, despiteLucca’s ever-increasing intention to annex Barga to its dominions, this only came about, by purchase, in the year 1248.
In order to understand better the importance of Barga and its cathedral, it is useful to cite a passage from the book “Chronica de Origine Civitatis Florentiae”, written in 2009 by Ricccardo Chellini, which refers to a declaration made by Pope Gregory IX in 1229: “To the Bishop of Lucca, if his fellow-citizens do not cease to molest the Garfagnana and its capital Barga, a diocese will be created there which will be separate from Lucca. If no satisfaction is given for the damage inflicted to this territory, the said Bishop will be forced to leave the City” (Les registres de Gregorie IX: Doc.333-1229 August 20 Perugia).
It is therefore clear that Barga at that time had assumed an altogether special role. With the enlargement of the church at the end of the 12th century, now dedicated to the Hospitaller Saints James and Christopher, it had become an obligatory destination for those pilgrims who, in search of holy sites, made their way along the alternative pilgrim route to the Via Francigena. This route passed through the dark and gloomy Serchio Valley, an ideal place for ambush by outlaws who were also on the look-out for those merchants (with their animals) who, via the hostile Sommocolonia, climbed and descended the Saltello Pass on their way to and from “Lombardy”, where the ancient lands of the Countess Matilde lay.
Obviously, in order to encourage a visit of consolation to the church, a particular figure, worthy of veneration, was required. The choice fell on the enormous statue of St. Christopher, known locally as the “St. Cristofano of Barga”. The statue was carved in the early years of the 13th century from the trunk of an oak tree which grew on the grassy area to the side of the Cathedral. Subsequently, the search took place for a reliquary of the saint. A story handed down to us narrates that this was acquired at that time in the following way: one day, a merchant, who was on his way to “Lombardy”, arrived at the main gate of Barga. He had with him a finger of the giant saint. Suddenly, the mule he was riding came to a halt and refused to go on. When the town dwellers heard that he was carrying the long sought-after reliquary of St. Christopher they advised him to deposit it in the Cathedral, saying “do this and you’ll see that the mule will start moving again!” And indeed the mule did start walking, but only after the merchant had handed over the reliquary in exchange for his life. In those days, for a fragment of a saint, people were prepared to do anything!
With the reliquary of the saint in its possession, the cathedral of Barga became the most sought-after pilgrimage site and the prayers of the pilgrims for protection, said in front of his enormous statue, became the presages of his presence: at the same time they caused the waning of devotion to St. James.
Over and above the legend and the “forced” pre-eminence of St. Christopher in Barga, it is clear that the church itself had assumed a role of primacy in the Garfagnana in terms of holy sites along the pilgrim routes. These routes were generally followed by the pilgrims in their desire to discover, with intervening stops, the major centres of worship of their religion, of whichRomeand Santiago de Compostela are prime examples.
This religious spirit and the particular ideals which gave birth to it are what this book, though undoubtedly as a first attempt and in no exhaustive way, sets out to explore in relation to Barga and its Cathedral.
The Cathedral of Barga (to the people of Barga, the “Temple”) is the brightest jewel in this treasure chest of history and nature. For the local economy it is an important visiting card which attracts numerous tourists, drawn by the fascinating beauty of the building and its sculptures, large and small, of which the 13th century pulpit attributed to Guido da Como is the finest example.
The Cathedral is the outcome of a number of different construction phases which had as their starting point a small church built prior to the year 1000, to which a first enlargement was added on the north side, towards the end of the 12th century, significantly altering the orientation of the church. In the following century, on this new axis, a further lengthening took place, to be followed in the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries by the construction of three chapels which completed the building.
Observing the Cathedral from the outside with its irregular profile (the result of the various construction stages), we can only agree with what the archaeologist and art historian Corrado Ricci (1858-1934) – an attentive visitor - said about it: “it is the most distinctive cathedral in the world”. These words are significant insofar as they reveal the efforts of the people of Barga in their desire to have an impressive building which, in earlier times, had to be adapted according to a mix of exigencies, both sacred and defensive, which the stormy historical events of the time made advisable.
The sentiment behind the construction of the Cathedral can be found inscribed on a stone slab on the door of the bell tower. The slab is of the same material, the “alberese of Barga” (a fine-grained, calcareous, sedimentary stone), as that used in the 12th and 13th centuries in the construction of the building. The inscription repeats a few poetical lines written at the beginning of the 20th century by Giovanni Pascoli, who lived, died and was buried in the Barga area. It was placed in position at the completion of the major restoration of the building which took place from 1927 to 1939. It reads: “In the time before 1000, the people of Barga lived on chestnuts, and they built the cathedral saying: In my house I have only bare floorboards. Blessed be the name of liberty, for our cathedral has what is great, with the most beautiful marble pulpit that ever was seen. They said: what is mine is small; what is ours is great”.
If this inscription takes us back to before the year 1000, it is undoubtedly true that the history of Barga has much deeper roots, going back to before the birth of Christ. At that time, the entire valley, from its entrance in Ponte a Moriano to its furthest point on the borders of the Lunigiana, was inhabited by the Ligurian tribes, a people who lived in an area of South West Europe stretching from the River Ebro in Spain to the plain of the River Po in Italy and which included the Valley of the Garfagnana. The Ligurian tribes lived in large, permanent, settlements and are known today in the Barga area as the “Apuani”.
The presence of the Ligurian tribes in the Barga area is evidenced by the discovery of numerous tombs, in 1968, in Val di Vaiana (a veritable necropolis situated at a height of 700 metres) and, in 1974, on Monte Ceneri at 600 metres, both sites dating back to the second and third centuries BC. Prior to that, in 1492, a tomb was discovered at 200 metres in Caterozzo in the lower part of the Barga area on the River Serchio.
Roman expansion found a serious obstacle in these proud and warlike tribes, such that more than one attempt at subjugation was necessary, often ending badly for the Roman Eagle. Out of revenge, the tribes even besieged the Roman strongholds ofPisaandPiacenza, until 180 BC when they were forced to capitulate. In order to be able to govern the conquered territory (which included that of the “Apuani” – a bellicose people because lovers of liberty)Romedeported them en masse to the Sannio region (betweenAbruzzo,MoliseandCampania). As they were about to leave their land with its tombs which held the ashes of their ancestors and their citadels – amongst which, it is said, that of Barga on which the Cathedral stands today – the entire group let out a mournful cry which echoed from peak to peak of the surrounding mountains. At one time they numbered 40,000; at the end, only 3000 remained.
If this is the oldest story of the valley which hosts Barga, the name of the city itself has roots which go back much further in time. According to etymologists, the name “Barga” derives from the languages spoken by the pre-indoeuropeans during the thousands of years before the birth of Christ, and means “hut”, “shelter” or “mount”. Given the nature of the rise on which the fortified area of Barga stands, the latter would appear to be the best interpretation, even if the agricultural wealth of the area, amongst the best in the valley, would fit well with the idea of a settlement of huts of these ancient inhabitants, progenitors of the Ligurian tribes.
Going back to the forced exodus of the Ligurian tribes of 180 BC,Romesubsequently sent in to this territory (which they wanted uninhabited) its own colonists, apportioning them land for cultivation.
To the north of Barga is situated the ancient fortification of Sommocolonia. The origin of this name goes back to the time when Roman colonists settled there and which, because of its position at 700 metres, took the name of “Summa Colonia” (“the colony on high” or “the highest of all”). There are, however, other places whose name clearly derives from Ancient Roman families: Tiglio (Attilius), Albiano (Albius), Mologno (Volumnius), Seggio (Seius), Pedona “sex Pedonis”, Gragno “Granii”, Castelvecchio (Casco Balbus), Catagnana (Catagnanus), etc. (Riccardo Ambrosini, Lucca e il suo Territorio – Topomastica, Dialettologia, ecc. – Lucca 2006).
The first reference that we have to Barga dates from this Roman period, although not all historians agree on this point. This reference is to be found on a bronze tablet, the “Tabula Alimentaria” (a sort of land inventory), which was unearthed in the region ofPiacenzain 1747 and which dates back to the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). As well as listing the names of Roman families, most of them fromLucca, it also cites the “saltus praediaque Bargae”, i.e. ownership of the pastures and fields of the Barga area.
In 275 AD, Roman Barga, like the whole of the Garfagnana, became Christian, “St. Eutichiano of Luni exalted to the apostolic throne” as Paolucci puts it in his “Illustrated Garfagnana” of 1720. As a consequence, Christian places of worship began to spread throughout the area, slowly substituting the earlier “Gentile” temples.
During the 5th century, the Romans, now Byzantines, were swept away by the invasions of barbarians from the north of Europe. It was the Longobards in the 6th century who, moving down the Italian Peninsular, finally settled in the north and centre. This included the Valley of the Serchio andTuscany (from 574 AD the Duchy of Tuscia) which was then divided betweenFlorence,Pisa andLucca, the latter becoming the nerve centre.
During the Longobard period, we know that Barga had a significant number of inhabitants. The confirmation of this can be found in a notary deed of the 11th century conserved in the State Archives of Siena. This deed is a copy of a “Charta Dotis” (Act of Donation) of the year 754 AD which records a number of donations which Walfredo di Ratchauso made towards the building of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter in Palazzuolo (Monteverdi Marittimo, Province of Pisa), including some houses which he owned in Barga, Lupinaria (Lupinaia), Gluvezano (Ghivizzano), Ghermio and Sarachaniano (Silicagnana). Walfredo (later Saint Walfredo) was the founder of the Abbey and son of the Longobard Ratchausi, the King’s Administrator inPisa and founding head of the Gherardesca family.
Precisely the influential paternity of Walfredo, son of Ratchausi, leads us to believe that the “Charta Dotis” of 754 is a tacit declaration that Barga was, at that time, a Longobard stronghold with houses, probably, huddled around a church. Some of these houses are included in the Act of Donation whilst others are excluded, as was the church itself which, undoubtedly, was desired and built after the arrival in thevalleyofChristianityand which was expressly dedicated to that religion. The document which we cite in the following paragraph bears, to some extent, witness to this.
The planned church was without doubt under the authority of the near-by Pieve (ParishChurch) of Loppia (2 kms from Barga) which was the mother church of the Garfagnana, an area covering today’s Coreglia, Barga and Fosciandora. The construction of this church is thought to date back to the time of Frediano, Bishop of Lucca, thus to the late second half of the 6th century. However, the first document which confirms the existence of the Pieve of Loppia carries the date 764 AD (A. Arc.le.Lucca) and here we also find Barga being mentioned as under the Pieve’s direct ecclesiastical jurisdiction (L. Stefani: “La Pieve di S. Maria Assunta di Loppia” – 2008). This document states that even in the year 754 AD a church existed in Barga.
In 774 AD it was the turn of the Longobards to be defeated at the hands of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, who took the title of King of the Longobards. After their oath of allegiance, he left vast areas of the territory under their partial government including the Duchy of Tuscia, now transformed into the “Marca of Tuscia”, i.e. border region. In 990 AD, inLucca, the “Longobard government” concession ceased. A few years earlier, in 983 AD, the Bishop of Lucca, Teudegrimo (983-987 AD) conceded to the Rolandinghi family ofLucca(thought to be of Longobard origin) the ecclesiastical control of the Pieve of Loppia, re-confirmed in 994 AD by Bishop Gherardo (991-1003).
From that date, the seignory (the overlordship) of the Rolandinghi spread throughout the lands around the Pieve of Loppia, amongst which was certainly Barga. This is evidenced in a document of 1048 in which Uberto di Rodilando stated that he was lord, with house, lands and church, of the citadel of Barga (L. Angelini “Una PieveToscana nel Medioevo” – 1979). However, their influence was reduced somewhat with the rise to the regency of the “Marquisate of Tuscany” of the “Attoni” family, the powerful feudal lords of Canossa whose control extended overModena, Reggio dell’Emilia andMantua, and who were second in power only to the emperor.
In fact, Barga (as described by G. Cappelletti in his “Le Chiese d’Italia dalla loro Origine, etc. – Vol XVI, Venice 1861) was a “Vicaria dei Re d’Italia” and was to receive even greater privileges under the Attoni dynasty, especially from the daughter of Boniface of Canossa and Beatrice of Lotaringia, the Countess Matilde of Canossa (1046-1115).
The presence of the powerful lords of Canossa in the territory of Barga and their territories in Modena and Reggio dell’Emilia, linked by the ancient road that leads up to Sommocolonia crossing the Apennines at the Saltello Pass, is confirmed by an inscription which was placed on the Pieve of Loppia after one of its major restorations, but which today has disappeared. The inscription commemorated Beatrice’s donations towards the restoration and bears the date1058 (Bib.ca di Stato,Lucca: Baroni, ms.1016).
Another inscription, dated 1071, referred to Beatrice’s daughter Matilde, and commemorated the construction of the tower and fortress of Sommocolonia, sited above Barga. It was inscribed on one of the bells in the belltower of thechurchofSt Fredianoin Sommocolonia but is lost to us today because it was melted down at some time in the past.
When Beatrice’s second husband (Gotfredo il Barbuto) died in 1069, Matilde assisted her mother in the government of the Marquisate of Tuscany up until her mother’s death in 1076 when she inherited the title.
As Countess, in 1090, Matilde granted special privileges and immunities to Barga. These were reconfirmed, in 1185, by the emperor Frederick Barbarossa in a document sent to his loyal “Consuls” and to all the people of Barga in which he declared and promised that all the good customs and laws enjoyed by the inhabitants since the time of the Countess Matilde, of happy memory, would continue to be observed by him through his representatives.
Matilde died in 1115 without direct heirs and this gave rise to the dispersion of her considerable patrimony which, for a number of years, had been conferred on her by the emperor Henry V in her quality as Queen of Italy and Papal Representative. In fact, several different attempts at possession ensued, amongst which the appropriation, by the Holy See, of Matilde’s territories in the Garfagnana which included Barga. Frederick Barbarossa, in the height of the struggle between Empire and Papacy, had peremptorily claimed his right of succession in the 1185 document cited above, firstly with an ordinance to the whole population of the Garfagnana, Barga included, then, repeated in the same year after a few months, to Barga alone. With this document, the Garfagnana entered, de facto, into the vortex of the struggle between Pope and Emperor.
This important imperial document, addressed solely to Barga, declared that the Empire recognised the city as the capital and major fortification of the entire Garfagnana region, hence its leadership of all the other fortifications and inhabited areas. As a result, Barga, armed with the imperial authority expressed by various emissaries, led a united Garfagnana in the struggle for its longed-for freedom from the interferences of Luccawhich was determined to expand its domain. From the upper reaches of the valley, the ancient territory of the “Lessigoni” echoed the spirit: Castiglione, Coreglia, Controne, Ghivizzano and Ceserana met in a parliament in the citadel-church of Barga – enlarged for the first time in the 12th century and dedicated to the Saints James and Christopher – to deliberate on the best way of resisting the encroaching interference of Lucca. The outcome was an alliance withPisa in a complicated “tapestry” of situations very difficult to unweave.
Luccawas not the only city to be attracted by the conquest of these lands – for the simple reason that here there was a natural resource very sought-after at that time: immense woodlands which rose to significant heights above the River Serchio, which were exploited for commercial purposes (amongst which shipbuilding) and which constituted the wealth of the local population.
This fact of the “free succession” of Matilde’s territories also gave rise, in Barga, to a “public administration” aimed at a free Commune which would autonomously create its own regulations and which the Papal authority would accept, as the Emperor had accepted in 1185. It was in this period that the idea to enlarge the small church of the citadel (which a document of 996 AD records as being dedicated to St. Vitus) took shape.
However, because of the alleged bequests made by Matilde and in the light of the struggle between Pope and Emperor, the Church of Rome was not going to relinquish the chance of having the Garfagnana and Barga under its control. Such was the inducement, that it dedicated itself totally to helping the city (and these other territories) to keep the interference ofLuccaat bay. In fact, despiteLucca’s ever-increasing intention to annex Barga to its dominions, this only came about, by purchase, in the year 1248.
In order to understand better the importance of Barga and its cathedral, it is useful to cite a passage from the book “Chronica de Origine Civitatis Florentiae”, written in 2009 by Ricccardo Chellini, which refers to a declaration made by Pope Gregory IX in 1229: “To the Bishop of Lucca, if his fellow-citizens do not cease to molest the Garfagnana and its capital Barga, a diocese will be created there which will be separate from Lucca. If no satisfaction is given for the damage inflicted to this territory, the said Bishop will be forced to leave the City” (Les registres de Gregorie IX: Doc.333-1229 August 20 Perugia).
It is therefore clear that Barga at that time had assumed an altogether special role. With the enlargement of the church at the end of the 12th century, now dedicated to the Hospitaller Saints James and Christopher, it had become an obligatory destination for those pilgrims who, in search of holy sites, made their way along the alternative pilgrim route to the Via Francigena. This route passed through the dark and gloomy Serchio Valley, an ideal place for ambush by outlaws who were also on the look-out for those merchants (with their animals) who, via the hostile Sommocolonia, climbed and descended the Saltello Pass on their way to and from “Lombardy”, where the ancient lands of the Countess Matilde lay.
Obviously, in order to encourage a visit of consolation to the church, a particular figure, worthy of veneration, was required. The choice fell on the enormous statue of St. Christopher, known locally as the “St. Cristofano of Barga”. The statue was carved in the early years of the 13th century from the trunk of an oak tree which grew on the grassy area to the side of the Cathedral. Subsequently, the search took place for a reliquary of the saint. A story handed down to us narrates that this was acquired at that time in the following way: one day, a merchant, who was on his way to “Lombardy”, arrived at the main gate of Barga. He had with him a finger of the giant saint. Suddenly, the mule he was riding came to a halt and refused to go on. When the town dwellers heard that he was carrying the long sought-after reliquary of St. Christopher they advised him to deposit it in the Cathedral, saying “do this and you’ll see that the mule will start moving again!” And indeed the mule did start walking, but only after the merchant had handed over the reliquary in exchange for his life. In those days, for a fragment of a saint, people were prepared to do anything!
With the reliquary of the saint in its possession, the cathedral of Barga became the most sought-after pilgrimage site and the prayers of the pilgrims for protection, said in front of his enormous statue, became the presages of his presence: at the same time they caused the waning of devotion to St. James.
Over and above the legend and the “forced” pre-eminence of St. Christopher in Barga, it is clear that the church itself had assumed a role of primacy in the Garfagnana in terms of holy sites along the pilgrim routes. These routes were generally followed by the pilgrims in their desire to discover, with intervening stops, the major centres of worship of their religion, of whichRomeand Santiago de Compostela are prime examples.
This religious spirit and the particular ideals which gave birth to it are what this book, though undoubtedly as a first attempt and in no exhaustive way, sets out to explore in relation to Barga and its Cathedral.