9666 recommended shops near Lucca/Barga

Hi cocumella,

only me again!

Follow the main road down from Gallicano towards Lucca, and after a few miles you see a block of shops that have a bike shop on the left with lots of bikes outside. Above it, is a furniture shop.....I have not been myself and only found out about it last week, so let me know what it's like!

Failing that, you always have IKEA in Firenze!

Regards

Rafe

Rafe,
thanks you're being of so much help! Well i actually suggested IKEA to my brother but he needs some persuading on that i'm afraid! i think ikea will be good for some stuff but we want a really good quality sofa bed etc and i'm not mad about the ones on the ikea website, so i will definitely check out that furniture shop you mention. am i right in thinking though that there isn't many (any?) big furniture places around as so many people in these forums are suggesting ikea in firenze! i think we're spoilt for choice in the UK compared to italy.

I brough most of my stuff with me, so I have not done much searching on these. Let me know how it goes and I will keep an eye out for more....

At the large hypermarket in Gallicano they have a not bad selection of electric goods which includes fridges. Only a few kilometers to transport.
Lucca itself has a couple of large shops one of which is called something like ELECTRONICS and one passes it on the left as you travel through Lucca on the way to Barga.
There is also a large MediaWorld which sells fridges, cookers and they deliver to Barga and install, I believe, for about €20.
Here is a link to where it is in Lucca and you can click to see the online shopping and perhaps find something in advance.
[url=http://www.mediaworld.it/cgi-bin/dove/puntivendita.pl?PV=lucca]Media World - Dove siamo - lucca - Media World[/url]

Sorry, I was at Bagni di Lucca when you wrote this thread and I did not read it.
Apart from Ikea, you have Mondo Convenienza at either Pisa or near Florence. For more information: [url]www.mondoconvenienza.it[/url]
For interesting findings and a lot of junk as well, try in Lucca "Mercatino dell'Usato" at Acquacalda [url=http://www.mercatinousatolucca.it]Home page[/url] and you also have the big hypermarket Carrefour and Media World for appliances nearby.

[quote=IRITALIA;90858]Lucca itself has a couple of large shops one of which is called something like ELECTRONICS and one passes it on the left as you travel through Lucca on the way to Barga.[/quote]

I think that you may mean Euronics. There is also one, I think, in Castelnuovo. For furniture, there is also Mercatone Uno in Lucca, on the Viareggio road beside the Coop. There are also some smaller furniture and electrical shops in Bagni di Lucca and Fornoli. The hypermarket in Gallicano is the E. Leclerc (Conad). Lastly, but by no means least, are the antique markets - the one in Lucca is great, and I think there is also one in Castelnuovo sometimes.

PS: I have a TV and DVD for sale - offers considered! ;-)

The Lucca Antiques Market operates on the 3rd Sunday of each month. It is really good.

[quote=Masca;95513]I think that you may mean Euronics. There is also one, I think, in Castelnuovo. For furniture, there is also Mercatone Uno in Lucca, on the Viareggio road beside the Coop. There are also some smaller furniture and electrical shops in Bagni di Lucca and Fornoli. The hypermarket in Gallicano is the E. Leclerc (Conad). Lastly, but by no means least, are the antique markets - the one in Lucca is great, and I think there is also one in Castelnuovo sometimes.

PS: I have a TV and DVD for sale - offers considered! ;-)[/quote]

Euronics it is indeed and I have only recently shopped at the one in Castelnuovo.
Didn't know about the antique market there though and will remember to have a look when I am back. Could be cheaper than Lucca. :smile:

The electrics shop at Bagni di Lucca is very good, although it does not carry a great choice. The owner is an electrician and he comes and installs everything free of charge.

Here is the list of all the "mercatos" and "mercatinos" in Tuscany.

[url=http://tuscany.angloinfo.com/information/40/markets.asp]Local Markets in Tuscany - AngloINFO Tuscany (Italy)[/url]

I am also going to put it in the "New to Tuscany" group.

Thanks for that one Gala. Now saved on my Favourites.
A nice reference for day trips out when guests are staying.

An update following our recent trip:

Mercatino dell'Usato at Lucca has dramatically increased prices. Really too expensive for second hand, they practically match antique shops prices on selected items - and some were nothing more than rubbish - and I do hope that they will come back to their senses. Still, worth a visit to compare.

Antiques and Vintage Market at Lucca on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Excellent prices! It looks as if people are feeling the pinch and there are quite a few bargains to be had if you negotiate prices. We bought ourselves a pair of Savonarola chairs at an excellent price, I will not tell you how much or how little not to make you envious. In case you are not familiar with this type of furniture, here you have some useful information: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-chair]X-chair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
Ours are very similar to the ones in the picture. The central medallion depicts Florence's "giglio". We are thrilled!

Oh, go on Gala, tell us how much they cost. Show us the photos of what we missed! :smile:

Yes they are very pretty Gala. Well done.

[quote=juliancoll;102272]Oh, go on Gala, tell us how much they cost. Show us the photos of what we missed! :smile:[/quote]

Well, all that I am prepared to say is that they would have had to pay more for a less interesting armchair at IKEA.... so you get an idea. They were an incredible bargain and they are in perfect condition. Solid wood, no "tralli" marks... I cannot believe we got them! We have been after a pair of Savonarola chairs for years and there was always something wrong with the ones we found.... generally the price. I saw a similar pair sold through Internet for over US$ 3,000!!!! and I am not talking about antique ones.... just vintage, like ours.
Photos coming soon. I have to get myself organised. You will also be able to see the tassles I bought in Florence.

Photos uploaded as I promised. See my album.

Wonderful chairs Gala. I typed in "savonarcla" into ebay.it. Interesting results. Not only chairs but old prints too at excellent prices which could then be framed of course and so on .....

So I would be interested if anyone has purchased DIY materials from anywhere else other than Carrefour and Leclerc. I couldn't find B&Q style home improveent stores when I last looked (We are in Bagni Di Lucca)

There is a large shop (I think it is Brico Io or Brico Center near Barga on the road that goes from Fornoli to Castelnuovo on the right hand bank of the river. It is a bit tricky to find the entrance. Then, there is the large Brico shop at San Concordio in Lucca, near Esselunga. Finally the Leroy Merlin store on the first floor of the I Gigli Commercial Centre in Prato West.

Hi and thanks for those, we found the Brico Io and it has proven to be just what we were after. Now if only someone had told me that you have to water down most Italian paints by 30% my first morning of painting wouldn't have been so traumatic! :-)

What type of paint did you buy? Possibly the one coat paint which is quite thick.... I guess....

Well, I just asked for a standard wall emulsion..

Many of the paints you find around nowadays are one coat. This may explain your problem.

I think it would take a lot more than one coat paint to explain my problems! :-)

There is also a large MediaWorld which sells fridges, cookers and they deliver to Barga and install, I believe, for about €20.
Here is a link to where it is in Lucca and you can click to see the online shopping and perhaps find something in advance.

Lisa11

I think that this is the link you wanted to give: [url=http://www.mediaworld.it/punti-vendita/scheda-punto-vendita/index.php?localita=49]Lucca ? Punti vendita Megastore ? Media World[/url]
It is located in the same area where Carrefour is.

Thanks, I have driven past mediaWorld in Lucca (on the way to the carrefour).

[quote=sparters;110893]Hi and thanks for those, we found the Brico Io and it has proven to be just what we were after. Now if only someone had told me that you have to water down most Italian paints by 30% my first morning of painting wouldn't have been so traumatic! :-)[/quote]

I brought my brother over to help me paint the house (He is a professional Painter and Decorater) he is now of the opinion that Italian Paint is THE best paint he has ever used and he thinned it by about 40%!

However, I got some paint "mixed" in Brico in Fornaci di Barga - It was hysterical - it was the first time they had used the mixing machine and it took them (there were three assistants helping) 3 attempts to get the right shade still it was much more fun than B&Q!

The paint remover/turps stuff in Italy is FANTASTIC as well - I make such a mess when I'm painting but this stuff wipes up spilt paint so easily.

Also, in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana there is a little hardware and paint shop and the prices are cheaper than Brico - it's opposite a furniture shop called Ferrari's (near the bus station) where we got our kitchen (worked out cheaper and better quality than IKEA) and a leather suite - both of which were ordered successfully with a minimum of Italian and English - the leather suite purchase was accomplished by pointing at my shoes....I just Love Italy....