SIENA & TUSCANY

Last summer, I had the chance of spending a couple of days around Tuscany, photographing its beautiful cities and landscapes. Though I had too short a time to explore around and really try and give the place justice, I really loved being there and I am looking forward to spend more time in the area soon. Well, until that happens let's see what I could come up with this time: more images and the rest of the story after the break!

Piazza del Campo at dawn, Italy 2012

Siena is one of the most beautiful medieval cities that fill center Italy, in the Tuscany, Marche and Umbria regions; smaller and less messy busy than Florence, but bigger than the really small ones such as San Giminiano or Volterra, Siena has it all: the beauty, the history, an active cultural scene, is (relatively) calm, it has the Palio race of course with all the rivalries and banters that surrounds it; and as a plus, its people are much friendlier and warm towards outsiders than the people in Florence generally are, for instance. While during the day the city is very very busy, with busloads of tourists coming in, they for the most part arrive sometimes in the morning and go away in the afternoon: thus, going around the city off these hours offers a very different face of it, much calmer and more livable than when the crowds are in. More, going around the narrow streets in the morning before first light one has the feeling to have the place completely for himself: in the middle of July, one of the busiest months of the tourist season, I walked for hours around dawn and see probably three people, if that.

So, back to the photos! The image above is, of course, the famous Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is been held twice a year; trapezoidal in shape and sloping down towards the Palazzo Pubblico, Il Campo is one of the most beautiful Piazzas of all Italy and a sight to behold. Access is from narrow streets all around it:

Piazza del Campo, Italy 2012

In the middle of Il Campo rests Fonte Gaia, one of the many fresh water sources that dots the city:

Fonte Gaia, Italy 2012

A detail of the animal sculptures that embellish the Fonte:

Thirst, Italy 2012

The majestic Church of San Domenico, towering over the roofs on the outskirts of the old town center, is an impressive sight at first light:

San Domenico's Basilica at dawn, Italy 2012

To say goodbye to the city, a detail of the beautiful Loggia della Mercanzia:

Loggia della Mercanzia, Italy 2012

Leaving Siena (after too short a time there!), before moving north towards Florence, I wanted to check out the hills called the Crete Senesi first:

The Crete Senesi, Italy 2012

Going out of Siena heading north towards Florence, choosing secondary roads allows you to drive through some of the most beautiful farmed lands in the world, the Chianti hills with their beautiful vineyards and old farms:

Le Corti, Italy 2012

Reaching Florence, I decided not to enter the city; it's too messy busy, hot and crowded this time of the year and being there in the middle of a summer day isn't exactly my idea of fun. Driving around it I headed towards the Casentino and the Apennine mountains; I wanted to see Poppi, another small but important medieval city, sitting on top of an hill with its impressive castle towering over its surroundings, looking imposing just before sunset:

Poppi, Italy 2012

Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Italy images are available for sale HERE!

Now for the technical stuff (click to go to the related product page): all images shown here have been shot with a Nikon D3X and a Nikon D800E equipped with the Nikon 24mm f/1.4 AF-S, Nikon 35mm f/1.4G AF-S, Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S, Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AF-S and the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR. For support I used a Gitzo tripod equipped with an Arca Swiss Cube head; last, but certainly not least, I also used Singh-Ray filters, including a polarizer & various ND filters. Photos have been developed in Nikon Capture NX 2 and finished in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Thank you for reading this far, and see you soon on the blog! Stay tuned for more - Senese people coming up next!

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SICILIANS

Sicily is an incredibly beautiful island, both her natural and historical beauty undeniable. At the same time, however, is has never been a tranquil land to live in; in the course of history, due to its position in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, it has been contended between and fought for by all the major empires that dominated the area, since the beginning of times: invasion after invasion, domination after domination, insurrection after insurrection the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, all left a long lasting influence both in the urban fabric of Sicilians town and in the human fabric of society. In the twentieth century, together with the rest of Southern Italy, very unfortunately Sicily has followed a slower development curve than the rest of Italy; emigration towards the richer Northern areas of the country, together with the influence of organized crime, misuse of public funds and corruption helped keeping the island in this state of relative backwardness compared to the rest of Italy, despite the attempts of many, who often lost their lives in the process. Despite all this, one of the most appealing thing for me going around Sicily is the openness, warmth and friendliness of the people one meets in the streets, shops, restaurants and hotels: in short, Sicilians are great. That, and the richness of life in the streets, makes for a very interesting place to be photographing around.

Friendship, Erice

As I said before, walking around the small towns and cities of Sicily you can expect to find interesting frames of life popping from almost everywhere; from a guy selling mountain artichokes in Siracusa:

...and refreshing himself with a well-deserved beer to fight Sicily's heat:

Churches' doors double as background for selling groceries:

Groceries, Caltagirone

While in Sciacca you can see fishermen selling their freshly caught shrimps:

Catch of the day, Sciacca

Fish market, Sciacca

Fisherman, Sciacca

Mending nets, Castellamare del Golfo

Shepard tending to their grazing flocks is also a not uncommon sight around Sicily:

Shepard, Segesta

Shepard, Selinunte

Fishing, of course, is big on an island - here a fisherman in Trapani's salt fields:

Waiting, Trapani 

The catch, Trapani

Some street portraits around Sicily:

Old man, Caltagirone

Gazing at the horizon, Caltagirone

Afternoon walk, Sciacca

A Sicilian Gentleman, Siracusa

Reading the news, Mazara del Vallo

In Mazara del Vallo, people are very very keen on introducing you to the beauty of the restored city center, which is trying very hard to reconvert itself from being one of the main ports for the dying fishing industry to being a touristic town. So, at almost every corner you find someone pointing you to some monument or other - this is Antonello the wood-smith, following whose indications one gets to see churches and monasteries, and to meet with Salvatore:

Antonello the wood-smith, Mazara del Vallo

...and this is Salvatore himself, a very funny guy readily available to bring you around Mazara and to show you all you need to see (at least, according to him, that is):

Salvatore, Mazara del Vallo

Kid in the arab quarters, Mazara del Vallo

Siblings, Mazara del Vallo

Gossip, Caltagirone

This guy, waiting for tourists just outside of the archeological site in Morgantina, explained how he could have been Mayor but declined - unfortunately, I forgot to write down his name. A very colorful character indeed:

"The Mayor", Morgantina

Resting, Siracusa

Morning coffee, Castellamare del Golfo

Boys, Castellamare del Golfo

Now for the technical stuff (click to go to the related product page): while most of these pictures have been shot with the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 equipped with the Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0, Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 and Fujifilm XF 60mm F2.4 lenses, for some of them I used my trusty Nikon D3x, equipped with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S and the Nikon 135mm f/2.0 DC (a quick look at the Exif will tell you which is which!). Photos have been developed in Fuji's own RAW development software and Nikon Capture NX 2 for the Nikon's files; after conversion, all files have been finished in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Ok, this is about it for the trip to Sicily! I hope you enjoyed the story and the photos, and stay tuned for more - coming up next, Tuscany and a few assignments, whichever will be ready first...

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SICILY: TEMPLES AND MONUMENTS

History, in Sicily, is incredibly rich: exploring the region, one is faced with layers upon layers of different periods, remains of different civilizations, ruins, palaces, temples, and more. All these are deeply rooted and immersed in a nature that would be magnificent if some men didn't decided that making money with bold disregard for any rules, for the respect of archeological, ecological & environmental problems and requirements was more important than the preservation of thousands of years of historical and cultural heritage - as you can see that for instance in Agrigento's Valley of the Temples, where the valley has been ravaged by unruled & uncontrolled developments. However, luckily this is not always the case, and you can appreciate the archeological remains in Selinunte & Segesta, or the baroque cities such as Siracuse, Noto & Modica and much more in a relatively unspoiled environment. Here the Doric Temple in Segesta, unfinished but majestic nevertheless, from a rarely seen angle:

Segesta, Italy 2012

And the same temple, first again from an unusual viewpoint:

Doric Temple, Segesta, Italy 2012

Then a more classical close-up:

The temples in Selinunte are very well known, but what inspired me there was - more than the still-standing, over-photographed temples - working in & from the rubble of the other temples:

Ruins, Temple of Dionysius, Italy 2012

Temple of Hera and ruins of Dionysius, Italy 2012

Again in Selinunte, the Temples may on occasion serve as background for herds of sheep:

who graze undisturbed in the Archeological park's grounds. 

And one last, from the Valley of the Temples, near Agrigento, where exhibitions of new art uses as background the millenary display that the Temples provide:

Icarus Fallen, Italy 2012

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, not all is well though: in this photo of the Temple of Concordia, you can see the developments behind (including heavy industries on the far left side), which definitely make the viewing experience less pleasant and which could have been built a few miles away, easily.

Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: amazing artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Sicily images are available for sale HERE!

Now for the technical stuff (click to go to the related product page): all images shown here have been shot with a Nikon D3X equipped with the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S and the Nikon 135mm f/2.0 DC. For support I used a Gitzo tripod equipped with an Arca Swiss Cube head; last, but certainly not least, I also used Singh-Ray filters, including a polarizer & various ND filters. Photos have been developed in Nikon Capture NX 2 and finished in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Thank you for reading this far, and see you soon on the blog! Stay tuned for more...

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SICILY: THE SALT FIELDS NEAR TRAPANI

Salt has undoubtedly been one of the most important goods all along human history: a fundamental component of life, it started being extracted from sea water around 6.000 BC to be used both as a nutrient and as a preserver; populations fought and killed each other for the power it gave to those who could keep its control; revolutions made through it (see for instance Ghandi's Salt March); roads & cities have been named after it; many words of common use today come from the Latin word for salt, such as salad, salary and so on. Salt has been either mined, or extracted from sea water during the course of history using various different systems, getting slightly more refined as mankind & technology progressed, but still based on the same principles. One of the oldest way of obtaining salt from the sea (especially effective in a hot area such as Sicily) consists still today in creating vast, shallow ponds separated by levees, filling them with sea water, and then letting the sun do what it does best in Sicily: being hot as hell. Once the sun made the water evaporate, it is a pretty easy job to pick up the salt. One area where salt fields are still in operation today is near Trapani, in Sicily; and there I had a chance to spend some time shooting around in one of the old saltworks.

Harvested salt, Italy 2012

In the old days, water was moved from the sea to the elevated sea fields via windmills, now long replaced by mechanical pumps. The old mills, rusty and abandoned, are still standing today, quiet witnesses of their own past. Here is an old, re-converted mill at dawn:

Windmill and sea salt pond, Italy 2012

And here's another one, this one abandoned to itself, bathed in the warm light of morning:

Old windmill and sea salt ponds, Italy 2012

Salt pond and old mill, Italy 2012

Once the salt has been collected, it is then stored in mounds, covered by plastic sheets weighted down by roof tiles, creating beautiful reflections at dawn:

Old Sea Salt ponds, Italy 2012

Saltern reflections, Italy 2012

As well as at sunset:

Sea Salt hills, Italy 2012

Operations in the salt fields are nowadays mechanized, but probably not as much as one would expect:

Old machinery, Italy 2012

In the old days, as I mentioned before, salt was a very important commodity: one that people killed for, tried to steal, and therefore one that needed protection. Hence, the need for watch towers all around the salt fields: some of these are still standing, though their function is - fortunately - not needed anymore in today's Sicily.

Sea salt fields and levees, Italy 2012

Last, I leave you with a final image: closing the circle started with the first photo of this long post, once more you can see the final product of all the work done here; with one of the old mills in the background, not needed nor useful anymore, but still standing proud for all the years of service rendered.

Sea salt and old mill, Italy 2012

Plug: if you like beautiful Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, look no further: amazing artwork featuring Fine Art prints of my Sicily images are available for sale HERE!

Now for the technical stuff (click to go to the related product page): all images shown here have been shot with a Nikon D3X equipped with the Nikon 24mm f/1.4 AF-S and the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S. For support I used a Gitzo tripod equipped with an Arca Swiss Cube head; last, but certainly not least, I also used Singh-Ray filters, including a polarizer & various ND filters. Photos have been developed in Nikon Capture NX 2 and finished in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Thank you for reading this far, and see you soon on the blog! Stay tuned for more...

SUPPORT THE BLOG! USE THE BOXES BELOW TO START YOUR AMAZON SHOPPING!