As we have already published in an article a couple of years ago, there has been a small revolution in one of the tiny outlying villages close to Barga.
The bar Sosta de Diavoli at Ponte di Catagnana was central to all the movement taking place but as you can hear in the short interview below (in Italian) the real “culprits” were a couple of new arrivals to the area – Captain Dimitri Hibberd, a former Boeing 747, Jumbo Jet pilot and his companion Leigh Boswell.
Concerned by the state of repairs to the bridge, the damage done to the banks of the river from past winters floodwaters and the condition of the guard rail over the bridge and slightly dismayed by the apparent lengthy timescale necessary to restore the bridge to its former glory by the relevant authorities, they decided to see if it was possible to do the work with volunteers.
To raise money for the project they organised a series of events which took place during 2014, culminating in a yellow plastic duck race along the Corsonna River.
The tiny yellow ducks were released further upstream and the first one to pass under the bridge won a €100 voucher for any shop or restaurant in Barga, second prize – a €50 voucher.
At first they were talking about 100 ducks but the demand was such that they shortly became 200 and once an article appeared on the net, there were even people in the UK attempting to buy their way into the floating fun.
A rubber duck is a toy shaped like a stylized duck, generally yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. The yellow rubber duck has achieved an iconic status in Western pop culture and is often symbolically linked to bathing. Various novelty variations of the toy are produced.
Rubber duck races, also known as derby duck races, have been used as a method of fundraising for organisations worldwide. People donate money to the organization by sponsoring a duck. At the end of the fundraising drive, all of the ducks are dumped into a waterway, with the first to float past the finish line winning a prize for its sponsor.
To participate in the race it was possible to buy a numbered yellow plastic duck at the bar Sosta de Diavoli at Ponte di Catagnana.
The following year the demand was even greater and so 200 yellow ducks were set free into the swirling Corsona, the first past the bridge was deemed the winner, the ducks were then all collected up (including those stranded in rock pools and eddies) returned to the start further up the stream and then released once more …. and then again and finally the fourth time.
This year the number of yellow ducks has increased once again – 800 yellow ducks are now racing down the Corsonna and once again the proceeds for the race all go to charity.
