Firenze ~Tuscany ~ Italy
Recently we returned from 5 years living in Tuscany and traveling throughout Italy. Almost daily we'd pass over the bridge named for the great explorer Amerigo Vespucci. It connects the historical center to the Oltrarno area of San Frediano, stradling the Arno at the place called "The Weir." One of my favourite photographic subjects is reflections.
Amalfi Coast ~ Italy
After the Covid restrictions were lifted a little bit, we got into the car and drove down the Amalfi Coast for three weeks, spending time in AirBnBs and boutique hotels, mostly near the beach. We spent our days lazing in the sun, swimming in the Tyrrhenian Sea, dining in fabulous seafood restaurants and visiting temple ruins. Not a bad way to spend the first weeks of summer.
Castiglione della Pescaia ~ Italy
Castiglione della Pescaia is a beach town and old fishing village in the Maremma region. This scenic seaside destination is located in the Grosseto area of Southern Tuscany and is well known for excellent cuisine and fabulous wines.
Palermo ~ Sicily ~ Italy
One should never go to Italy without taking time for a trip to Sicily. Sicily is the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It lies just opposite "the toe of the boot" which comprises the map of italy. Our favourite beach was Mondello. I wrote a poem about it (Mondello Q &P December 2019) and a poem about Cefalù (Cefalù Q & P June 2020). The cover of my book "A Raga for George Harrison" was photographed in Sicily. We were fortunate to spend 2 weeks on the ground there.
Porto Venere ~ La Spezia ~ Italy
Porto Venere is a town and comune (municipality) located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It is here that Percy Bysshe Shelley drowned and the bay became known as the Bay of Poets or the Gulf of Poets. Lord Byron was another poet who spent time there, often swimming across the bay to visit the Shelleys. This was one of our first "Road Trips after we moved to Italy.
Viareggio ~ Lucca ~ Italy
Another popular idyllic beach town. It was here that Shelley's corpse eventually washed ashore after he drowned near Lerici. Our friend rented beach umbrellas and chairs, so we did a little bit of "Day Tripping" to relax and bask in the sun. Viareggio is in the Province of Lucca and lies on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Grand Canal ~ Venice ~ Italy
I never tire of Venice! I love to get up just before dawn and go down to the vaporetto landing to photograph the sunrise over The Grand Canal. Venice is a favourite spot for artists. I stay at the Hotel Monaco Grand Canal. It is just across from Harry's Bar, a favourite restaurant for many years.
Ponte Santa Trinita ~ Firenze ~ Italy
The Ponte Santa Trìnita is the oldest elliptic arch bridge in the world. It was built during the Renaissance. Four ornamental statues of the Seasons were added to the bridge in 1608. On the night between 3-4 August 1944 it was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. The bridge was reconstructed in 1958 with original stones raised from the Arno or taken from the same quarry of Boboli gardens. The missing head of Primavera (Spring) was recovered from the bed of the Arno in October 1961. This is one of my favourite bridges to photograph or write poems about
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Viareggio ~ Lucca ~ Italy
Here's Viareggio again, in Northern Tuscany. See the old hotel in the background. I can almost picture Isadora Duncan arriving in her Bugatti, visiting the seaside for a bit of fresh air. So much history in this little seaside village.
Tyrrhenian Sea ~ Amalfi Coast ~ Italy
I shot this photo from our table at a restaurant in Gallipoli. We loved dining al fresco, breathing the fresh sea air. The next day we drove inland a bit to visit Paestum which is known for three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world.
Bellosguardo Hotel ~ Porto Romana ~ Firenze ~ Italy
Just around the corner from our Villetta on Ugo Foscolo (named for the Poet) there was a farm road. If we moseyed up that road through the vineyard and orchard, we'd arrive at this magnificent hotel. Again I could not resist photographing the reflections in their pool. If you look closely you might spot Victor.
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