Welcome to a site mainly about history and photography in Italy. Most of the posts deal with places in Italy and their history, and are illustrated by my own photography – large, medium and small format. Other posts deal with related subjects such as my photography, books about history and Italy, and anything else which seems relevant. Sometimes I just feel like celebrating le cose Italiane.
Three of my loves are Italy, history and photography, so this seemed a good way to indulge all of them at once.
You can find a lengthier self-introduction, and the reason behind the name of the blog, here.
All images on this site are my own and are copyright, unless explicitly identified otherwise. Each image is set to open at a higher resolution in a separate browser tab if you click on it, so I do recommend doing that if possible, especially if you are looking at this site on a computer, a tablet or a larger phone.
And yes, the photo in the title was taken by me, and no, I did not use a coloured filter. You can read about how I took it here.
Posts
You can find the entire blog, most recent post first, here. Otherwise, the lists of posts – most recent first – is below.
The Cardinal and Napoleon’s Sister
Stormy Weather
The Sala Dei Notari in Perugia
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome
Catherine of Siena, Cardinal Albornoz and Sir John Hawkwood
Urbino – the Palazzo Ducale
A Return to Palermo
The Avignon “Captivity”
The Etruscan Heartland – Tarquinia and Tuscania
Ravello and its Villas
Amalfi and the Sorrentine Peninsula
The Frescoes of Fra Angelico in San Marco, Florence
The End of the World – The Duomo and Signorelli Frescoes in Orvieto
Wine and Truffles in the Langhe
Paleochristian Churches Part V – The Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome
A Walk to Porta Pia
Paleochristian Churches IV – Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Pudenziana and Santa Prassede
The Temple on the Mountain
Abruzzo and the Reluctant Pope
Cospaia – the Accidental Republic
Paleochristian Churches III – Three Umbrian Gems
Renaissance Exuberance in Perugia
Night Photography in Bologna
Paleochristian Churches II – A Return to Ravenna
Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands
Street Photography in Bologna
Perugino Comes Home
Viterbo – Wet Bishops in the Papal Palace
Palazzo Te – Romantic Trysts and Doomed Giants, but No Tea
Street Life in Naples
Procida
Paleochristian Churches (part one) – Santa Costanza and Sant’Agnese
The Ancient Gates of Perugia
Iris Origo, La Foce and Val d’Orcia
The Christmas Nativity Scenes of Naples
A Return to the Val d’Orcia
A Nation of Shopkeepers II – another celebration of Italian shops.
The Cloister of Santa Chiara in Naples
The Milvian Bridge at Feriae Augusti – when all roads lead OUT of Rome
A Little Place in the Country – The Villa Farnese at Caprarola
The Palazzo Trinci in Foligno II – More Jewels of the High Middle Ages
The Ponte Fonnaia on the Via Flaminia
Foligno: The Palazzo Trinci and the Hall of the Liberal Arts
The Lombard Invasion and the Byzantine Corridor
The Buried Streets of Perugia
The Sacred Wood of Bomarzo
The Via Amerina in Umbria
A Town Called Bastard
Et In Arcadia Ego
Princes Under the Volcano
Take this! Oh yeah? Take that!
Lars Porsena of Clusium, By the Nine Gods He Swore
A Brief Political History of the Italian Language
Cremona, Mantua and Venice – the life of Claudio Monteverdi
Mantua – Grumpy Old Artist, Charming Painting
Venice Curiosities
Commemorating the Passing of a Pandemic
Reasons to be Thankful
Valnerina: The Green Heart of the Green Heart of Italy
Evening Photography: Rome, Venice and Tuscany
Street Photography in Italy
Dawn in Venice
Taormina – In the Shadow of the Volcano
Tough Guys in Art – the Baglioni of Perugia
A Nation of Shopkeepers
The Val d’Orcia at Dawn – II
Camera and Chianti – The Italian Photography of Francis Sandwith
Ravenna at the Fall of the Empire
Castelluccio and the Piano Grande
The Serious Business of Dressing Up – Part II
Piazza Armerina, Morgantina and Siracusa
Puglia and the Salentine
A Continuous String of Onions: Padua Market
Vanished Kingdoms
The Serious Business of Dressing Up
Montalbano Country
Villas and Vistas in Tivoli
Carsulae: On the Legions’ Road to Rimini
History in Focus: Urbino
A Visit to Narnia
Alps and Castles: the Valle d’Aosta
The Garden of Livia Drusilla
Of Emperors and Onions
The Paradox of Old and New Italy
Norman Sicily
A Storm in the Val d’Orcia
The Wild West of Sicily
On the Pleasure of Old Travel Books
History in Focus: The Val d’Orcia
Crocodile Dundee Shoots Large Format
Il Miracolo di San Bagagio
A Room with a View – Buying a Property in Italy
Vicenza Virgins
History and Photography in Italy