place
Italy
Or see the 200 photographs tagged “italy” — a narrower set, chosen by keyword rather than by where it was taken.
Roma
Rome. The capital of Italy for the past 140 years. Arguably the epicenter of much of what we now attribute to Western-style governments. Our forefathers of the United States of America even saw our country as the natural continuation of the Roman Republic (and I suspect some commentators, especially from the Old World, would argue of the Roman Empire). It is a city that sits squarely on its haunches, nestled upon the newly restored marble bones of the Palatine mixed with the still pollution eroded, pock-marked face of the old Colosseum; a majority of it disassembled by the generations that followed the collapse of the Empire in the 4th century AD to get at what was then a nearly impossible to duplicate resource: forged iron. I have been to Rome twice thus far. Once with my then fiancé on our four-week honeymoon some three years ago back at the start of January, 2008. And once again in early November of 2010 for half-day between my arrival from the United States and my train ride down to Trani, Italy to visit friends. I must admit that I have thus far enjoyed Rome more on my second visit than my first. The trick may lay in the simple fact that anything more than a few days in Rome is too much of a good thing. It is, after-all, a large metropolitan area with all that comes with this distinction. Past a visit to the ancient capital, the Vatican, and other cultural destinations it soon becomes just another city of people, vehicles and buildings. I suspect after the first few days it requires some few months to really get past the cultural exterior to discover the heart of Rome. And I would not argue I have discovered this deeper, more authentic Rome. I have been but mere tourist with a tourist's typical proclivities. Time can only tell if I ever have such an opportunity. Regardless, Rome is a city worth the effort to see and explore. Read more here.
Trani
Trani is a seaport city situated along the Adriatic Sea in the region known as both Apulia and Puglia. It is a small city that is easily accessible by foot. At its heart is a city made of marble; marble being one of the major exports of this area. As my friend Dave quips, "if can be made of marble it is made from marble in this city." I first visited here in November of 2010 after sight-seeing in Rome for half-a-day. Read more here.
Matera
Matera is hard to capture in photos. It truly is a city of stone; a place of rock. So much of it is just the enormity and collision of stone, rock, light and shadow all at once under that clear blue Puglia azure sky; I fear that it comes across as washed out or drab in my photographs. And more still, it is hard to imagine what it might be to have lived here or even live here now — it defies comprehension for a modern person to be so totally immersed in a place that, while warmed by the present warm human bodies, still echoes back to a time long, long past into the very antiquity of human memory. Read more here.
Castel Del Monte
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Torre Sansanello
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Reggia de Caserta
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Pompeii
Pompeii is legendary for the city obliterated in the early mornings of 79 BC by an erupting Mount Vesuvius. While many of us have seen the plaster-casts of people trapped under four-meters of ash on television or in photograph, it is another thing to experience the city first-hand. Even under an overcast sky replete with rain cannot dampen the enthusiasm I felt to explore on foot this ancient sanctuary for lives lost but a life preserved by generations of archeologists. Read more here.
Napoli
Napoli, if described by Tolstoy, might be "It is a city you love. It is a city you hate." Napoli is the heart of southern Italy, a place that brings together the intensity of its people into a metropolis worthy of them. Read more here.
Firenze
Firenze (Florence) is considered the birth place of the Renaissance. Like all of history some liberties are likely taken with assigning the start of any movement, intellectual or otherwise. But nevertheless, Firenze certainly is jam-packed with art, architecture and culture that is so identifiable that you are sometimes surprised to be reminded you are in Italy, not your own country. Firenze is a very refined city catering to the casual tourist. It is easily accessible to everyone and is maintained with a rigor that maybe only Disney can outshine, but not by much. The city center is so much refined that at times you can lament for the everyday Firenze citizen who seemingly has little in the way of eatery that much be disguised by its lack of signage. In terms of my photography, the light of Firenze is so enthralling that I decided to explore HDRI for the first time. You can see all these photographs here. Read more here and here.
Siena
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