Memories of Italy

Thrifting WonderlandFlowers, italy, Photography, Travel, vignette17 Comments on Memories of Italy
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Welcome, Friends, to the Blog today. I’m so happy you are visiting and can’t wait to share the new look for our gallery wall in the Morning room. As you may know we had an extended trip to Europe in the Spring of 2023 which took us to several cities in Italy and an additional couple of weeks in Ireland. It was a wonderful trip with so many beautiful places to remember.

We finally got around to choosing some pictures to frame and display on the Gallery Wall in the Morning Room. My husband built the shelves for the gallery and I love being able to change out the pictures as the seasons change.

The picture displayed above is of Mantova or Mantua which turned out to be one of my favorite places to visit. It’s a walking town with absolutely spectacular art work. When you come into town from the train station you pass by this beautiful canal reminiscent of Venice.

When getting ready to put a photo collection on display I start collecting picture frames from the thrift Store. I try to keep them in the same theme. In this case black frames with white matting. I wanted the openings to be suitable for an 8″ X 10″ photo. Over a couple of months I was able to collect enough frames to work for this display. Some of the frames had usable mats and some did not. So, I had to purchase standard mats and cut them to fit the frame. It was a pretty inexpensive way to go.

A second photo of Mantua made it into this display. This is from the Room of the giants in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua. The room is unbelievable. Images like this are painted on all the walls and ceilings in vivid colors that have never been restored. The story told is about the Olympic gods battling with the Giants and winning. The Giants are mostly on the walls and are larger than life size. They completely surround you when you are in the room with the Olympians gazing down from above. These are painted frescoes and magnificent.

I saw beautiful frescoes in the city of Pompeii preserved by the ash that killed a large portion of the population. Frescoes are painted directly on the wall and many of these were produced by traveling artists. The frescoes give the viewer slices of life from a sophisticated people.

Near Pompeii was a city called Paestum in which magnificent Greek temples in wonderful condition are preserved. These temples are huge and rather awe-inspiring. You won’t find better even in Greece. It is humbling to think that a civilization so far in the past was able to engineer these spectacular structures.

Umbrellas provided a lighthearted and whimsical display in the streets of Modena. Add to that the abundance of fresh produce and delicious pasta and you have a winning visit. The cathedral is in the background in this shot.

We ended our Italian stay with six weeks in Venice gathering material for a course we are teaching now. This was one of our favorite, romantic spots along a small canal. We sat and enjoyed a few glasses of wine and watched the Venetian world go by.

Seagulls were everywhere in Venice and this one had a wing in his beak. The dark wing was in contrast to the snowy white breast of the seagull. Obviously, he wanted his picture taken.

A night view of the iconic Bridge of Sighs was something I had to include. The legend says that if you kiss in front of the Bridge of Sighs, your love will be eternal.

What would Venice be without its Gondoliers and the light that bathes the city reflected beautifully in the water. It makes Venice appear magical.

I had to include another hard-working Gondolier with flower baskets and a bridge in the background.

We traveled the city from one end to the other. We traveled by water bus (vaporetto) and on foot. I think we explored every street in Venice and on the Islands in the lagoon and it was amazing.

It was a grand adventure and we will never forget the many Italians we met on our journey. The picture to the right is of a fresco in Torcello.

Here’s a picture of the whole gallery wall. you can see that the frames are not all the same size but the size of the photos is consistent and the color of the frames is consistent. I’m growing herbs, ivy, and some spring flowers below. Thanks so much for joining me today.