Lerici

Since we were halting at Pisa for the night we had ample time, around five to six hours in hand; which meant we could easily drive around in the region, visit a couple of towns and be back to hotel by sunset. Our first destination from there was Lerici (pronounced LEH-ree-chee). By now we had developed a good feel of the left hand drive and felt quite secure from the speeding vehicles overtaking from left.



Lerici is a small fishing town in the Gulf of La Spezia, also called, the Bay of Poets, because Byron, Shelley and Keats played upon its shores. We reached quite early and the Sunday crowds hadn’t poured in yet. Luckily we got an empty parking slot in a parking strip along the beach and we set off to dip our feet in the Ligurian Sea. I had never seen such blue waters before. The beaches of Thailand and India have an emerald green sea and this blue seemed more pleasant to me then.


The boats were inactive in the shores. The castle of Lerici stood tall and mighty at a distance; it now has the role of a museum, the Museum of Paleontology, a one of a kind museum in all of Europe. The villas, all very colorful and stacked side by side like colorful boxes, the mountains in the background and a blue sea as front view; it did seem like an ideal place to live. We had the feedback that non-residents of the town are not allowed to drive into the town's center so we just walked along the beach; probably one of the best short walks we had in Italy.

Sunset in Pisa

The final moments of the day in Pisa.

A couple of hours back the jets had crisscrossed the sky leaving behind trails. As the sun slid down, the trails which had spread out by then, started to glow with a bright red hue. One of the most mesmerizing sunsets I saw in Italy.

SkyWatch Friday

The Pisa Cathedral

Another memorable Italian architectural masterpiece I saw was the Cathedral at Pisa. Beautiful façade, mostly made of white-grey-colored marble, the upper part of the façade has four rows of open arcades with columns. The cathedral was built in 1092, but most of its medieval art was destroyed in a major fire in 1595. The huge bronze doors that are there today replaced the original ones that were destroyed in the fire. The shots below are the west and southeast views of the cathedral.



The intricate details in the arches and columns are ‘shot’ worthy. No photography was permitted inside, as it was a Sunday and prayers were on inside.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Neel Kamal

My tiny lily pool is a joy to see these days. My lily plant has started to flower this season and there has been one or two flowers blooming regularly the past few weeks. This week I overjoyed to see three in a row.




Scientific name: Nymphaea nouchali/stellata, Nymphaeaceae
More on Water Lilies here.

Macro Flowers

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

A childhood dream fulfilled!

Built by Bonanno Pisano in 1174…
completed by Giovanni di Simone, Tommano Simone in mid 14th century…
294 steps to top…
leaning at an angle of 3.97degrees…
sinking at the rate of 1mm every year...

All these facts and more seemed immaterial to me then, I was seeing it for real; the leaning tower of Pisa. I tried to straighten with a tilt of my camera, but the tilted one looks better.

SkyWatch Friday

Artists at Uffizi, Florence

My last post on Uffizi evoked questions like 'whether I saw the original David at Accademia museum'. I did see it and I managed to take a shot of the original David. Photography is not permitted here too but there was no big board and as I entered the hall I clicked only to hear the security personnel shouting seconds later ‘No Photography!’ A couple of other photographers too managed shots before we neatly packed our cameras back in our bags.



The narrow stretch between Uffizi’s two wings buzzes with business. There were people who set up their small stalls selling their art, artistes in various costumes posing with tourists, musicians entertaining... at one particular spot I felt I was crossing a statue, but he suddenly moved and I was completely taken aback. With so many statues around and his perfectly still pose, I couldn’t suspect him to be live. See the shot below of the artist.

Uffizi, Florence

It was with great excitement and enthusiasm that I stepped into Uffizi only to find a big ‘no photography’ board right in front. A sixteenth century building, it is famed to be the most famous art museums of the Western world. This was opened to public as museum in 1765. It is best to book tickets to Uffizi in advance; else chances are that you will find the lines painfully long.

Luckily I did some good planning and had my tickets which ensured a smooth entry. I passed countless paintings and statues. Rooms with more famous paintings were crowded, with tourists hovering around them for longer time absorbing in leisure. Obviously that had to be, tourists come from miles away and all they can carry away are visual memories. Here is the greatest collection of Renaissance art in the world and there is so much to see. The rooms are themed, individual artists, schools of art or with those belonging to different periods. It is convenient to trace the course of art from the thirteenth century, through the roots of the Renaissance, past the greatest flowerings of Florentine art and on through Mannerism and up to the eighteenth century.

It is so rightly said that no visit to Florence is complete without a visit to Uffizi. Here is a shot of the copy of David just outside Uffizi for Skywatch.

Baptistery Doors, Florence

These are the doors that adorn the eastern side of the Baptistery free for tourists to view and photograph. The bronze panels of Gates of Paradise were like shimmering gold reflecting Florence sunshine that day. Michelangelo referred to these doors as fit to be the "Gates of Paradise" and they are till this date referred to by this name. The ten large separate panels on this door depict 3D scenes from the Old Testament.



The other doors have a grey-black finish and have twenty-eight reliefs, arranged in 7 rows. The frames of the reliefs are designed with foliage and fruit, animals, insects, lizards, and birds. The intersections of the frame work had a head that represents a male or female prophet. The reliefs show scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist and lower reliefs contain representations of virtues, such as Prudence and Fortitude. The reliefs which are visible now on the doors of the Baptistery are copies. The originals, as well as the artists’ sketches and molds, are displayed in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.



If you are not hiring any guide it is best to take help of books. I had DK’s Florence and of course the Lonely Planet of Italy. DK’s eyewitness travel has good explanations and detailed pictures too. Unluckily for me I could not see the beautiful interiors of this 1000 year old building. It opens at 12.15pm and I had my tickets for Uffizi at the same time. I had to move on.

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Florence Cathedral

Florence’s cathedral complex which includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The dome of the basilica is the largest brick dome ever constructed. Viewing the complex from a distance gave a good idea about how it dominates the skyline of this beautiful city.



These shots are the reflected image of the complex on the window pane of rooftop restaurant in Uffizi and the actual scene.

Interiors of Florence Duomo

Florence Duomo is ranked fourth largest in the world. In the huge interior of the duomo I was lost once again just like I was lost in the Milan’s and Bologna’s. The high arches gives an impression of emptiness even though it was crowded inside. Each silent corner, the windows, the statues and even the walls seemed to be telling a tale. Photography was thankfully permitted here, and the photographers’ tribe there went click, click, click.

Sharing with you all some of the shots here… Shots of The Last Judgment (detail) under the dome.




The clock above the entrance was designed in 1443 by Paolo Uccello the uniqueness of this clock is that the 24th hour of the day ended at sunset. Paolo Uccello painted it with quadrant and medallions in 1443. Surprisingly it works even today. It has only one hand that rotates anti-clockwise like the ancient sundial!


The marbled floor, the pattern looked 3D. The marble flooring is said to have been the work of Baccio d'Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo.

Thursday Challenge

Facade of Florence Duomo

Sixteen days in Italy and I feel blessed to have been able to visit twenty two churches (big and small) there. The memories that I have brought back from there is immensely sweet and my photographs transport me back virtually to the same place, same date and time every time I see them.

At Florence too I visited a couple of them and the most impressive façade I got to see was here, at the Florence Duomo. The first stone facade of Florence Duomo was laid in Sept 1296. Over the years the façade has undergone modifications and renovations, the last one was done in 1863. The façade was reclad with a decorative mix of green, white and pink marble. The intricate patterns and designs with the different colors command attention. Sharing with you a few of the shots here.



It is said that Italian builders exhibited little concern for the facades of their churches, and dozens remain unfinished to this day. One reason for this may be that the facades were not conceived as integral parts of the structures, but rather as screens that could be added to the fabric at any time.

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