Power...

...used to be ruled from domineering heights.

(I am in Holland during the forthcoming week and will from today on not have the possibility to post until Friday next week. I will in the meantime continue to make photos for postings when I will be back in Italy. I wish you all a nice weekend and a good coming week. See you on Friday!)

Reading is...

... chickensoup for the mind and for the soul.

(A small bookmarket on Arona's Promenade along the lake)

Painting...

... with real fishermen

Dad is the carrier...

... while mum fishes for food.

And then there was light...

... these luminous decorative hortensia flowers can be found in many gardens along the lake.

Morning kiss

... while the other politely look the other way.

Isola Bella

This magnificent Island (one of three main islands near Stresa, at 15 minutes drive from Arona) still belongs to the Borromeo family and was named after Isabella, wife of Carlo Borromeo III.

She started the restructuring in the 17th Century turning what first was an unsignificant island into what it is today: a small Versaille with a typical terraced Italian-type garden (famous for its azaleas and rododendrons) and a main building full of art treasures. White peacocks walk around you through the gardens with their white-laced tails which create a surprising effect against the green of the grass and the blue of the sky. It is open to the public from March till October. It is not cheap to enter but it is worthwhile visiting!

Fire...

Sometimes when you open your windows at dawn, nature makes you this wonderful gift

Sailors...

... drying their feathers in yesterday's warm sun

The nineteen fifties...

... when survival conditions in some parts of Africa had not yet come to such extremes.

No sunshine? No tourists!

Usually, on friday or saturday evenings people take a stroll along the lake before going to dinner, or sit down enjoying the view, when the weather is nice...

Before the evening falls...

...it can be like this.

Water lentils

Water lentils can create that wonderful green colour with sun-lit yellow reflections on the surface of lakes and canals. In reality they are a pesterous weed (also called duckweed) that tends to take out oxygen from life beneath the water-surface. They are, for example, a threat to Venezuela's biggest Lake Maracaibo.

Sworn friends

When you are compelled to abandon your home, you try to take it with you, wherever you go...

(Israeli and Palestinian artists exposed their modern-art works together in harmony and with the intent to show that art has no borders)

The last boat

This is what I see from the end of my alley: a still privately owned and perfectly restorated medieval fortified building which rises from the calcareous rock of Angera, opposite Arona.
It witnesses marvellous late 13th Century frescoes of "The Justice Hall" (La Sala di Giustizia" and also hosts the biggest permanent toys and dolls collection in Europe with late 19th Century mechanical automation, still perfectly working.
From the top (Torre Castellana) one can enjoy magnificent panoramic views over the lake.

(This was the last taxi-boat to and from Angera yesterday evening. This morning we have. finally, a perfectly blue sky. Let's hope it will last!)

Stormy weather...

Rainy days also for The Church

Rain on the bride's parade

There's an old saying in the Italian language which says: "Sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata", meaning "rain on the wedding day brings luck to the bride". The bride and groom of the wedding we went to yesterday got it all...!

When art becomes a question mark

Sculpture totally made out of wax. No title. Any comments?

Hysteria Lane

This little dog belonging to circus people was very satisfied after his chase.

Puberty

...waiting for his mum, and then...

protesting against her...

(Parts of this wall date back to the first century B.C.)

Late afternoon

600.000 hectolitres of "Guaranteed and Controlled Designation of Origin" wines, plus 300.000 hectolitres of "Typical Geographic Indication" wines are produced every year in the Oltrepò Pavese area. The most important grape is the Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), followed by the Croatina and Barbera and Moscato grapes. The welknown wines are: Pinot Nero, Bonarda, Buttafuoco, Riesling and Moscato, amongst other.
This photo was taken in the area close to the city of Voghera in the Province of Pavia. On a clear day you can see Milan and the Swiss Alps from there.

Wine-paradise

13.269 grape-cultivated hectares. The "Oltrepò Pavese" (South of the River Pò) area, with a total of 42 villages located on the hills, is the 3rd most important area in Italy for D.O.C. wines after the Chianti and Asti areas. The morphological structures are mainly two: the lands on the low hills, made of marine sedimentary rocks with a high level of clay, and the higher lands containing gypsum. Both these terrains perfectly guarantee the typological features of different red and white wines produced in this area.

Back from Paradise

I spent three days in the soft and sunny hills which preceed Italy's backbone: the Apennines.

Eighthundred years of documented wine-making traditions in old rural villages scattered around the territory make this area called "Oltrepò Pavese" (Beyond the River Pò) unique. I will post some more photos of this small paradise in the next few days.

Jan

My brother-in-law's 3 year old German Pointer is not only a surgical hunting-machine, but also 40 kilos of unrestrained affection for his favourate uncle: me!