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VIA DEL PRETORIO
VIA DELLE MURA
VIA DELLA TORRE
(Itinerary
n° 1)
This
itinerary starts at Via del Pretorio, whose name is taken from the
building that it eventually leads to, the Palazzo Pretorio, which
is situated behind the Aringo at the top of the hill and is described
in Itinerary n° 3.
As
you look at the arrangement of buildings along the Via del Pretorio
you immediately feel the sense of a historic town. Huge portals
with thresholds and jambs in pietra serena and windows surrounded
in the same stone, give the impression of a robustness of civil
construction that neither earthquakes nor wars were able to destroy,
howevermuch they tried.
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Via delle Mura. |
A
few tens of metres along this street, if you turn to the right,
you will find Via delle Mura and the small square with the same
name which lies on the great wall and from where you can see over
the entire expanse of the Fosso. The street itself, which can
only be traversed on foot, leads up past old houses on one side
and the wall on the other until you reach the Palazzo Gramigna.
This palazzo is built right into the wall itself and is surrounded
by a beautiful shaded garden, which is situated at one of the
highest points of the town and has a magnificent panorama.
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Palazzo Gramigna |
In
front of Palazzo Gramigna, Via delle Mura meets the Via della Torre,
and on the corner, going down towards the Via del Pretorio, there
is a large villa which was built in the 18th Century, but which
has since undergone considerable reconstruction. From its sunny
terrace, for those fortunate enough to set foot on it, there is
a magnificent, unforgettable view over the rooftops of Barga to
the mountains beyond.
Via
della Torre was so-named because it led directly from Via del Pretorio
to one of the observation towers of the old fortifications. The
tower was demolished in the first part of the 19th Century, but
its remains were incorporated into the fabric of the present Palazzo
Gramigna.
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