Barga, Italy's Most Scottish Town: A Guide from Dumfries

Barga is a medieval hill town in the Serchio valley, in the province of Lucca in Tuscany, with about 9,300 people, and it's called "the most Scottish town in Italy" because so many of its families emigrated to Scotland from the 1880s onwards, many of them to open fish and chip shops. By most accounts more than half of the people living there today have relatives in Scotland. From Dumfries, the simplest way to get there is a summer flight to Pisa from Edinburgh or Glasgow Prestwick, then about an hour by car; this guide is from Ivano's Italiano, the Italian takeaway at 11 Whitesands in Dumfries.

A thin-crust pizza with olives and basil next to a Caprese salad of tomato and mozzarella, seen from above — Pizza and a Caprese salad from our kitchen in Dumfries.

In this article9 sections

We're an Italian family takeaway, and Ivano, whose cooking our shop is built on, was born in Lucca, the same province. So this is a story close to home.

At a glance

Where
The Serchio valley, province of Lucca, Tuscany; about 9,300 people
The Scottish link
Families who left for Scotland from the 1880s, many to run chip shops
Festivals
A fish and chip festival every summer, and a Scottish festival in September
Twinned with
Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, and Longniddry, in East Lothian
From Dumfries
A summer flight to Pisa, then about an hour by car

What Barga is

Tuscany's official tourism site describes Barga as a medieval village between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Apuan Alps. It's on the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy and holds the Touring Club's Orange Flag. At the top of the old town is the Duomo, the cathedral of San Cristoforo: the first church there dates from before the year 1000, and inside is a 13th-century marble pulpit attributed to Guido Bigarelli da Como.

About four kilometres away, in the same comune, is Castelvecchio Pascoli, where the poet Giovanni Pascoli lived from 1895 until his death in 1912; his house is now a museum. The town also has an opera festival, Opera Barga, founded in 1967, and Barga Jazz, which started in 1986.

Why it's called "the most Scottish town in Italy"

From the 1880s, larger numbers of Italians began settling in the west of Scotland, mainly from two places: Barga, and Picinisco in Lazio. Glasgow's local history site puts it simply: a number of those from Barga "found a niche as proprietors of fish and chip shops", while families from Picinisco turned to ice cream. An article in The Scotsman, reprinted by the town's English-language news site, says it was "an ailing Tuscan economy, suffering under the decline of the silk industry" that forced young people to leave.

The link never broke. The same Scotsman article quoted the town's mayor at the time, Umberto Sereni: "We are very proud to be the most Scottish town in Italy." It put the share of residents with Scottish relations at 60 per cent, and when Clive Myrie's Italian Road Trip visited in 2023, the programme described Barga as a town "where over half the locals have Scottish connections".

There's a Dumfries thread too. Writing about Barga in the Sunday Herald in 2005, Ian Mitchell noted: "Many of the restaurants here belong to families who also have establishments in Dumfries, or Paisley". And Bruno's, the Italian restaurant on Balmoral Road in Dumfries, says its founder came from a small village in the Garfagnana, the upper Serchio valley next to Barga.

The fish and chip festival

Every summer Barga holds the Sagra del Pesce e Patate, a fish and chip festival, at the town's football stadium. It's run by the town's sports club, Associazione Sportiva Barga, and has been held since the early 1980s. The 2026 festival was the 44th, and ran every evening from 30 July to 17 August.

In early September there's also a Scottish festival. In 2026 it ran from 4 to 6 September, with pipe bands, ceilidhs, Highland dancers and Highland Games in the medieval streets. Dates change every year, so check before you book.

Is Barga twinned with a Scottish town?

Yes, with East Lothian. In 2006, Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, and Longniddry joined together as twins with Barga. The painter John Bellany, from Port Seton, who painted in the hills around Barga, had a lot to do with it, and the twinning ceremony in Barga followed in April 2007.

In April 2024, Barga also signed friendship pacts (not twinnings) with South Ayrshire, in Ayr, and with Glasgow.

A harder part of the story

When Italy entered the Second World War in June 1940, Italian men in Britain were arrested and interned, and many were put aboard the Arandora Star, which was torpedoed and sunk on 2 July 1940. Barga's families were among those who lost people: at least 15 from Barga died, according to the Italian newspaper La Nazione. Our article on the Italian community in Dumfries and south-west Scotland tells that part of the story in more detail.

How to get to Barga from Dumfries

These are 2026 timings and estimates, so check before you travel.

Get to the airport
By road, Glasgow Prestwick is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Dumfries and Edinburgh Airport about 1 hour 35 (route-planner estimates).
Fly to Pisa
Edinburgh Airport lists Ryanair flights to Pisa, about 2 hours 40 minutes, and Glasgow Prestwick lists Pisa too. These routes are seasonal, running in the summer months, so check the airline's website for current dates. Edinburgh Airport also lists British Airways flights to Florence, about an hour and a half's drive from Barga.
From Pisa to Barga
By car, about an hour from Pisa airport (roughly 60 to 70 km). By train, Pisa Centrale to Lucca (about half an hour), then the Lucca to Aulla line to Barga-Gallicano station (about 40 to 50 minutes) and a short bus up to the town. A direct bus from Lucca takes about an hour.

From Barga to the Whitesands

We can't promise you a Barga fish supper in Dumfries, but we can offer the next best thing: an Italian family takeaway with a full chip shop menu, fried in beef dripping, alongside our pizza and pasta. Read about our fish suppers and chip shop menu. Once we reopen, Thursday to Sunday, 4pm to 10pm, you can order at ivanos.uk for collection from 11 Whitesands, Dumfries DG1 2RR, or delivery across most of the town.

Questions people ask

Why is Barga called the most Scottish town in Italy?

Because so many of its families emigrated to Scotland from the 1880s onwards, many of them to run chip shops, cafés and ice-cream parlours, and the links never broke. By most accounts, more than half of today's residents have relatives in Scotland.

What is Barga twinned with in Scotland?

Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, and Longniddry, in East Lothian, since 2006. In 2024 Barga also signed friendship pacts with South Ayrshire and Glasgow.

When is the Barga fish and chip festival?

In late July and August. In 2026 it ran from 30 July to 17 August. Check the dates each year.

How do I get to Barga from Dumfries?

Drive to Edinburgh or Glasgow Prestwick airport, take a seasonal summer flight to Pisa, then drive for about an hour, or take the train via Lucca to Barga-Gallicano.