Sotto il portico

{Seasonal}: Italy has been blessed with some very warm weather on these early autumn days. The rain has fallen hardly overnight on a couple of occasions ,altough the clouds have cleared  by the morning. Some days are brighter than others and  from under the portico it’s easy to spot the mountain, either partially veiled on clouds or bright and green – imponent - almost so close that you  feeel you can touch it. 

Each day unfold differently at the foot of Monte Grappa….

I can see  my grandparents’ farmhouse from under the portico

and lots of olive trees, testimonial of the time that goes by … I can still remember thinking that they were so tiny when my dad first planted them ..

the colours and the produce of the season are on showcase!

Flowers on rotation, seasonal and colourful as ever!

And so as the days goes by I am looking forward to see the view from under the portico again, because in recent times  I have been deprieved from it. Today I can see the view from  my bedroom  which is facing South, towards Venice side,  as I am finally able to raise myself from bed on the way to  fully recover from a surgery that I had to undergo in the week.

Surely the enviroment is helping a lot, I am fine here, fresh air, good food and company, shame I have to miss Venice tomorrow as scheduled there would have been the Mercatino dei Miracoli to visit under the special guidance of local artists Daniela and  Alfredo, but don’t you worry my friend, Walter will go and he will  document on my behalf.

So stay tuned - pictures will follow soon!

P.S. To all my  friends out there  - apologies for my lack of contact, I will be back to read you very soon!

On a journey - (PART FOUR- Italy)

LIVING

To touch the cup with eager lips and taste,

not drain it;

To woo and tempt and count a bliss,

and not attain it;

To fondle and caress a joy,

yet hold it lightly;

To watch the sunset in the west

without regretting;

To hail its advent in the east,

the night forgetting;

To smother care in happiness,

and grief in laughter;

To hold the present close,

not questioning the hereafter;

To have enough to share,

to know the joy of giving;

To thrill with all the sweets of life -

that's living

Poet: Unknown

Amongst Churches, capitei and some weird combinations …still in Italy (PART THREE)

{On a mission}: Casual walks around the area leads to some history lessons, here last Sunday on a sunny day this is what I’ve spotted.

Villa Perusini and Saint Francis’ Oratory (18th century) :The three storey Villa was originally sorrounded by gardens,pools and fountains, but its splendor decayed in time. Napoleone Bonaparte lived here in 1801.

Saint Francis’ Oratory was built before 1752 as part of the Villa. It was possible to reach it from the higher storeys of the villa by means of a sheltered passage-way. The oratory has an octagonal plan and two little towers at the two sides of the front.

Its original structure was the work of a Venetian architect called Giorgio Massari.

 

The Temple, Antonio Canova’s gift to the people of his homeland, Possagno, stands gloriously on the  top of the hill. Its white marble creates quite a contrast with the green background of  the sorrounding mountains.

A capiteo [in Venetian dialect ] also (tabernacle or votive niche) is a votive  religious (Christian) architecture, who comes from a popular cult passed over the centuries. Normally, a capitello  is built as an ex voto for a narrow escape, as a famine or a plague, but also as an aggregation of the Christian community, at which it can unite in prayer (especially for the recitation of the rosary).

The artist’s house… it is easy to see why an artist would want to be eccentric, in a region sorrounded by religious images and artefact, why not add a personal touch if art pieces  like these are not hard to find … 

 

Photography: Me for Mandarine d’Italie

and corn … on the way back home (PART TWO)

   

some  quietness on the way back home…

Amongst vineyards … (PART ONE)

{The two sides of me}: Testimonial of the extremist choices of my life, stand the vineyards, the campanile – next to the Church - that with its bell sign each and every hour, to the mountains that provide an impressive frame to the landscape. From the busy city surrounded by tons of cement, here in the open space, where on good days you can see Venice on the skyline and hear nothing but the sound of birds playing on the electric wire. Here there is a time for making wine and a time to go searching for mushrooms and chestnuts…each season has got its produce and traditions. I am wondering now if deep inside of me there is a bit of me that is missing the buzz of the city …

{I don’t know why but with me nothing is straightforward, I have to miss something in order to love it, to suffer in order to enjoy and to fight myself in order to conquer….}

I hope you will enjoy the walk with me, going to visit my uncle by my grandparents’ house where as a child I used to spend most of the week-end.