When..
Our courses usually start with arrival at 16:00 on sunday and departure at 10:00 the following saturday
How to Get Here
Quattro Archi is located in the town of Barga in Northern Tuscany. Whether you are joining us as an artist in residence, student on a course or for holiday accommodation, transport links you are likely to use are:
Rail
The station is Fornaci di Barga which is down hill from Barga itself. There is another station nearby called Barga Gallicano. Don't confuse them. There are more trains to Fornaci di Barga. There are buses and taxis connecting to Barga but you need to check details. Taxi's should be pre-booked because there is no taxi rank at the station. Often we can pick you up at the station by prior arrangement -please ask.
Barga Taxis: +39 331 3378051
Biagiotti: taxi@biagiottibus.it or +39 3351930799 (WhatsApp)
A taxi direct from Pisa airport to Barga is in the region of 150 Euros. This should be pre-booked at least a couple of weeks in advance.
The train connects to Florence via Lucca and Pisa via Lucca though some trains run direct from Pisa to Barga in the morning and afternoon. Italian rail fares are relatively cheap. The easy way to book is using the Trainline.com or you can use 'English speaking' ticket machines in the stations. If you use Florence you need to take the bus to the train station, so it's a little less convenient than Pisa.
Bus
A regular bus service runs from Lucca to Barga takes you right to the walls of the old Barga town. then you are just 4 minutes walk away. The bus is the E5 from the bus station near Porta Santa Anna. There is a ticket office there. Make sure you validate your ticket when you get on the bus (fold and insert to receive a date stamp).
Car
If you think you might want to explore independently, a car is a good option....though the roads may be a little more curvaceous than you are used to! Car hire is available from several operators at both Pisa and Florence. You can park in Barga free of charge. Usually you can park just outside the walls of the town in the 'Fosso' car park next to Porta Reale (its almost a pedestrian town and the streets are medieval and too narrow for many cars). If its very busy you may need to use the overflow car park a couple of minutes walk away. When you park make sure you display your parking disc -these are usually in the glove box of rental cars).
A taxi direct from Pisa airport to Barga is in the region of 150 Euros
Flights
Pisa is a Ryanair hub and has flights from many European locations including London, Manchester and Edinburgh. British Airways and Easyjet also fly to Pisa from London and Manchester. KLM fly to Pisa via Amsterdam. Pisa is about an hour drive from Barga.
Florence also has KLM flights from Amsterdam as well as British Airways from Edinburgh and London. Florence is about an hour and twenty minutes from Barga.
What's Included
When you come on a course at Quattro Archi we provide you with comfortable accommodation in a traditional building in the medieval town of Barga. The old town is largely pedestrianised and the streets are narrow. Some of them are quite steep, so please be ready for that.
There are 8 bedrooms, 5 with ensuite bathrooms and 3 which share 2 bathrooms. Four of them are twins and the others are doubles. All the rooms have fans in the summer. Air conditioning is not practical and detrimental to the environment.
We provide self catering accommodation with breakfast. This means you are free to cook your own food in either of the two kitchens but we provide breakfast. We are not a hotel or restaurant so we buy in the breakfast from a nearby restaurant and we are unable to modify the offering to suit dietary requirements. What you see is what you get ....a nice selection of Italian breakfast items. All our guests to date have been very impressed with the breakfast which is generally served on the terrace overlooking the town and mountains.
Typically our guests go out to one of the local restaurants within walking distance for dinner. Sometimes lunch is at a restaurant or cafe and sometimes people make their own, the choice is yours. Often everyone will go out together to a restaurant and depending on interest, we can arrange a pizza evening on the terrace. There are 3 fridges for you to keep your food and drink in. Most people drink the local tap water.
All the materials for the course are included as well as tuition. We serve complimentary drinks the first night and last evening at the group exhibition.
We provide the basic cleaning materials and toilet paper etc but we don't service your room during your stay. If you need anything just ask. There is a washing machine on site which you are free to use but after people started putting it on for a pair of socks, we now charge 2 euros per load as our 'environmental tax'! Washing powder included.