Kees' photos with the keyword: italy

What can I say? It’s a church, by the looks of it...

There’s no reason to believe that Robbie recognized the oversize portrayal, but he definitely smelled the pet shop behind it.

I rather like this one. As almost everywhere, you weren’t allowed to smoke or to take dogs inside (“I cani non sono ammessi”), but you can have both at the tables in front of the restaurant, so that’s no real problem.

Having dinner.

There’s a cue at the entrance of San Vitale and the mausoleum of Galla Placidia. That gives me some leisure to finish the third part of my big phantasy novel. It is basically about the struggle between Good and Evil. There’s a lot of magic in it, and lengthy dialogues in the Language of Yore (perfunctorily translated in footnotes), and names you’ll never manage to pronounce right, and Earth Monsters who willingly serve the Bad King and who, eventually, must be defeated. The hero is an adolescent dwarf who, in the course of the story, grows to manhood, and learns to ride elves with pointed ears. Well, I’m reluctant to betray too much; buy it as soon as it reaches your bookstore. Once it is completed, there will be twelve volumes of at least 600 pages each. This is something I’ve learned from Joanne Rowling: never say there’ll only be seven volumes –that’s asking for trouble.

Our last day in Ferrara was pretty cool and rather wet. Which didn’t prevent us from having a last Campari at our favorite street cafe near the Este castle. The empty glass is mine –Cora got pear juice (though I’m not sure she preferred it).

Around 1900, this used to be the place where writers and artists gathered. They don’t do so anymore –at least, we were about the only customers when I shot this. The interior has been left unchanged since the early 20th C.

For another shot look here

Trieste, near the Roman theatre. As often among the ruins, many cats are living there. This specimen may not make the impression of being alive, but it is, and has found a comfortable resting place under a parked car.

Sony DSC-R1, 2/5 s, f4.

Interior shot. I have decided never to use flash anymore...

While Robbie and I were waiting outside the cathedral, we had the opportunity to watch this scene: the camera man, director and sound technician is filming a young lady who tries very hard to explain the church’s wonders to a future audience. The scene had to be repeated many times. The girl was supposed to be walking from the door on the right in the direction of the camera; the bag was put there deliberately to prevent her from coming too close.

Interior shot (1/8 s, f5).

Palmanova is a typical Renaissance town: it was built in the 16th C. after a geometric pattern, with roads leading from all sides to a big square in the center. Its map much resembles a spider web. If Palmanova is a spider web, the church you see in the background must be the spider... Yes, we drank our coffee here.

View from our hotel room on the morning of our departure.

The center of Pieve by night, a typical “postcard shot”. I took quite a few night pictures, that week, but somehow I always missed the “blue hour”, when the lights are up, but the sky not yet black. This is the exception.

It’s easy to make beautiful pictures when you’re lucky to be somewhere beautiful.