I used to smile when I heard retired people say that they didn’t know how they ever found time to work, they were so busy in their retirement. But after this September I know more than ever what they meant! I could barely fit in everything I wanted/needed to do this month even without ‘proper’ work to occupy me.
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The Irish author James Joyce lived for many years in the city of Trieste, from 1904-1920 (with a spell in Zurich during WW1). During those last years of the city's Austro-Hungarian glory it was much-loved by Bohemian artists and writers such as Joyce. He moved there when he was just 22 years old and began writing some of his best-known literary works there.
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Perched on the top of the Colle di San Giusto near Trieste’s castle stands a tall monument in honour of the fallen soldiers of World War One. The monument, classical in style, features a group of five naked male figures in a dramatic war scene.
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In numerology the number ten represents cycles ending and new ones starting. Pythagoras called ten the ‘perfect number’ because it totals the first four numbers (1+2+3+4=10), symbolizing cosmic order and completeness. We naturally count in tens, because we have ten digits. And we mark important milestones in tens too: a perfect score in several sports, each decade a significant birthday.
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It has been said that the whole city of Florence is one art gallery. And it’s true that not only its palaces and museums are full of art, so are its streets. But And as with any busy city, its streets are full not only of art but also the small details that speak of everyday life.
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Mention a visit to Florence to anyone and they will likely ask, did you go to the Uffizi? did you visit the Galleria dell’Accademia to see David? With good reason, as they hold a myriad of treasures. But they are not the only great museums in the city, and others come with their own plus points. Less crowded, more intimate and on an easier scale to digest in a single visit.
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If like me you enjoy searching out and photographing small details that capture the unique stories of a city, then spotting these relics of Florence’s past will certainly appeal. These 'buchette del vino' or ‘wine windows’ date back to the 1500s when the Medici family allowed nobles who owned vineyards outside the city walls to sell wine tax-free.
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While Florence is a city of big-hitter sights (the Duomo, the Uffizi, the Accademia), it is also a city of winding streets and picturesque piazzas. A city of hidden gems, street art and welcoming bars and cafés. A city of churches, of monuments and markets. In short, it is Italy.
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Opinion is very much divided on the topic of street art and graffiti. Some dislike it all, regardless of the skill (or lack of it) of the artist. They feel it disfigures a cityscape, rather than enhances it. Others love it for its rebellious nature, again regardless of the skill (or lack of it) of the artist.
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Although all black and white photos are monochrome photos, not all monochrome photos have to be black and white. Monochrome comes from the Greek monochromos meaning ‘having one colour’. But why shouldn’t that one colour be green, beige, or orange? Or for that matter, grey, red or blue?
