Thursday 30 December 2010

Tic...tic...tic...

...the continuous soft sound of handcrafted pavement-making of the square which I overlook from my windows. Every single piece is put into place by hand by these workers who receive warm coffee from an elderly lady and bottles of wine from me, to keep their blood smoothly flowing in this freezing cold winter. Notwithstanding this bomb-mixture of alcohol and caffeine, their design develops perfectly well!
Once the pavement is ready, a large rectangular shaped low-to-the-ground fountain of essential design will be placed in the middle of the square which will then remain permanently closed for traffic (ain't I lucky!). The surrounding 14t to 17th century buildings will then be lit up by beams of light coming out of the new pavement and/or will be lit up by the old latern-lamps, typical of the historical centre of Arona. I only hope that the new fountain will not become a noisy throughout-the-night-shower in the heat of summer, but I know that I can't have it all...!
Arona

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Towards the new year...

... wishing that the few who have taken the reins of the world inappropriately in hand will step back, to make way for those who have clear and sincere intentions to share their own destiny with ours, making Utopia in this respect become a real world.
View from Arona on the castle of Angera

Saturday 25 December 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS...

...and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all of you and your loved ones!!
May the new year bring you good health and serenity!!
Diederick and Marina
Arona
Italy

Wednesday 15 December 2010

The territory battle continues...

...like in our Parliament
Arona
Italy

Sunday 12 December 2010

The first approach

Ice rink on the lake front,
Arona

Wednesday 8 December 2010

A wonderful event...

...organized by the Mayor of Arona: the projection of sacred images on the front part of the church in the Square of "San Graziano" in Arona. Notwithstanding the rain, many people came to see this.
Piazza San Graziano,
Arona 

Sunday 28 November 2010

When we woke up this morning...

...it had snowed in the sweet muscat-grape vineyards of the village of Rasei, in wine paradise.
Codevilla

Tuesday 23 November 2010

The jewel

First I had noticed the tree, then the windmills on the edge of the horizon, only then little town of Ripacandida (Basilicata), between the tree and the horizon, set like a jewel in this magnificent landscape.

Thursday 18 November 2010

Autumn leaves...

...was one of the many songs I sang during last saturday night's Jazz concert organized by Winery "Eleano" in the municipality of Ripcandida (Basilicata - southern Italy) accompanied by the professional Jazz Quintet, Mr. Grant's Band, and what a thrill to receive such a great response from the public!

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Saturday 30 October 2010

Addicted to Dawn

While you were all still asleep this morning
Arona

Monday 25 October 2010

The Scream

Only twice was I thoroughly impressed by “a scream”: the first time when, at the age of ten, I saw Norwegian Edvar Munch’s painting “The Scream”, and the second time a few weeks ago, when I saw these remains of a tree trunk, which also seems to express sheer terror! Too much uncontrolled deforestation for speculating purposes is taking place, and those who allow this, will not receive any benefit from it either…in the end!
Arona

Sunday 24 October 2010

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Dawn

Fishing harbour
Arona

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Arona is...


On the left: 16th century based church "Saint Anna", on the very right: 14th century "Broletto", what used to be the House of Judgement. Throughout the centuries Arona grew from a simple fisherman's village on the lake, into today's well known "Pearl of Lake Maggiore".
Arona

Sunday 3 October 2010

The great conductor

This is how Italian painter, Nicola Pankoff, of Russian-Italian origin, living and working in Arona, sees the world. Yesterday I was present, together with many other Aronians, at the opening of this magnificent exhibition, in the Castle of Galliate: a world of poetry and tales.
Galliate

Friday 24 September 2010

Sunday 19 September 2010

A splash of colour...

...which I invented myself by taking a photo of a "Murano" glass sculpture distorting its immage in photoshop. It has been chosen to become a decorative panel for a large white wall of a modern apartment.

Saturday 11 September 2010

Fish

Let's avoid emptying seas, lakes, rivers and ponds on an industrial scale, to feed mostly those who can afford them. It would turn against us all in the end.
Arona

My thoughts go out to all of those who lost their lives in the nine-eleven event and to those who lost their loved ones. May such horrible actions never ever happen again, and may reciprocal respect and understanding be the start of a true democracy in the years to come.

Thursday 9 September 2010

Nature is warning us

What remains of an important glacier at 2.200 meters height
Macugnaga

Thursday 19 August 2010

The mountain hut

Mountain hut "Zamboni Zappa" is located at a height of 2070m above the community of Macugnaga (Province of Verbania) at the feet of the magnificent 4635 m high mountain "Monte Rosa". After one and a half hour's drive from Arona, two ski-lifts take you all the way up to "Belvedere", where on a clear day (which unfortunately was not the case the other day), "Her Majesty Monte Rosa" shows herself in all her glory with spectacular glaciers. From "Belvedere" it takes an hour to reach the mountain hut. After a short lunch we descended by feet all the way down to Macugnaga with a height difference of 760 meters, which took us 3 hours. A wonderful day of natural beauty and fresh air.
Macugnaga

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Thursday 12 August 2010

Summer light...

...in black and white
Arona

Sunday 8 August 2010

Evening light...

...with a touch of photoshop
outside Arona

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Sunday 1 August 2010

What seems evening light...

...is early morning light
Arona

Saturday 24 July 2010

The heatwave

The cool water of a swimming pool, the shadow of overhanging trees and a glass of sparkling white wine, give that luxurious twist to life which I wish to everybody who is going through this already longlasting heatwave.

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Waiting for the tourists

The houses on the isle of Hydra seem to lay back lazily against the mountains while baking in the sun. The island is just a 20 minute taxi-boat trip away from the east coast of the peninsula of Peloponesus and 1 hour and a half by ferry from the harbour of Piraeus. After a walk through the lacework of small streets and squares with white-and-blue houses, often covered with lush bougainville flowers, and after a visit to the beautiful church with the magnificent marble bell-tower, go and sit on one of the terraces overlooking the horseshoe-shaped harbour watching the multi-colour fishing boats coming in and going out, while sipping a big glass of freshly squeezed lemon in slightly fizzy icewater. The freshness of the drink and the colours of the island under a dark blue sky are all you need from life in that moment.

Friday 9 July 2010

A quiet late afternoon...


...on the Isle of Hydra
Greece

Thursday 8 July 2010

Begging eyes

Clearance sales have started
Arona

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Husband and wife...

...since the 3rd century BC
Castle of Melfi
Basilicata

Saturday 19 June 2010

Medieval times

The 11th century castle of Melfi in Basilicata has the most wonderful collection of objects which date back to the 3rd, 4th and 5th century BC. Worthwhile a visit!
Melfi
Basilicata

Thursday 17 June 2010

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Stones and satellites

My 400th photo
This beautiful and incredible site  - under Unesco protection - is called the "Sassi di Matera" (the "Stones of Matera") and is located in the Province of Matera in the southern-Italian Region of Basilicata. Some of these dwellings, dug into the rocks, date back to about 9.000 years ago and are still lived in today...with TV satellites and all!
Matera, Basilicata

Saturday 12 June 2010

Nature is...

Countryside of Altamura,
Apulia

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Dear politicians of the Italian Region of Basilicata

You really should spend more time travelling through your own region, like you did when you toured around in cities and villages during your election campaigns, to gain the trust and votes of your people.
Weren't you glad to meet all those people, seeing their smiles when you shook their hands, promising that things would be alright and become better for everybody? I can only immagine what sort of satisfaction it should give to make people so happy.
I am more than certain that you would enjoy that endless and magnificent countryside again, with those softly flowing hills of green pastures and yellow cornfields, those large valleys with olivetrees and vineyards, those magnificent mountains which have nothing to envy to the Italian Dolomites in the north. Please do not forget to visit the two silent lakes of Monticchio again, where you should listen to what they will tell you about Brahmea, the rare nocturnal butterfly which in the world only lives there. And then...remember the "Sassi of Matera"...? No words are sufficient to describe its beauty!
Yes, you would meet all those people again durng your travelling. People who gave you their support. You would have the opportunity to listen more carefully to their cry for support. No, we are not talking about money here, they just want to feel your support again, to understand that your promises are coinciding with their expectations.
They have suffered! You know that! They have been hit hard in their hearts and in their belongings by earthquales, landslides and other natural disasters, but they always managed to build their own daily life up again, without the support they had expected, these silent, stubborn but oh so friendly and hospitable people of the hills, mountains and valleys, who in a most dignified manner often live in self-repaired houses painted in a range of colours which probably do not even exist in the rainbow, when it throws its arch beyond the horizons, after the strong wind has blown away those rainy dark clouds.
They sit isolated in their ivory towers of power, is their answer when I ask them where you are. They do not care about our wines, our chestnuts, our olive oil, They only care about the oil underground...!
You know, dear Politicians, these people know all about the oil drillings which take place in the National Park of the Agri Valley. They heard the Greens talk about the tremendously negative impact on the territory itself, where intensive oil extraction is contributing to a clear degradation of local fauna and flora, where the extraction methods are causing a lowering of the groundwater table, which has triggered hydrological changes. The seem to know that such effects are not always easy to predict but may have far-reaching consequences for the region's future. They fear that Basilicata's renowned agricultural products are at risk because of the concentration of industrial chemicals brought to the region. They see this as a huge barrier to the development of agriculture and tourism in the region. Then they started really getting worried when WWF-Italy stated that the impact of the oil extraction in the region is negative in all its aspects: research, processes, transport and refining, with serious risks to air pollution (emissions of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide), pollution of groundwater, the hydrological disruption, the seismic risk, not to mention the problems related to waste disposal and impacts on biodiversity.
Today they heard rumors that further drilling research operations will take place on a larger scale and also towards the "Vulture area", where this generous vulcano has given fertile ground with rich and lush minerals to the cultivation of Basilicata's world-famous Aglianico del Vulture grape which produces top-level exquisite wines and of which the organoleptic qualtities are and have been extolled by world-wide well known prestigeous experts.
They are worried, dear politicians, very worried and they request from you that you do not let all his happen, that oil is not the answer for the future and that you should concentrate on alternative energy with the sun and the wind which are abundant in your area. They have indeed the right to ask this from you, because they have chosen you to make their voices louder, so that they can be heard beyond the bounderies of their magnificent territory.

Yours truly,
One-who-fell-in-love-with-Basilicata.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Sunday 23 May 2010

In total silence

The Japanese garden
Clingendael Estate
The Hague

Friday 21 May 2010

Perfection in the Japanese garden

One cannot immagine that vandals had destroyed this garden last year...just for fun.  
Clingendael Estate
The Hague
Holland

Wednesday 19 May 2010

From the intense impressions in China...

...to the quiet surroundings of my original hometown in Holland for a small holiday on my way back to Italy. This beautiful estate is open to the public and contains a spectacular Japanese garden which opens for one month per year only.
The Clingendael Estate
The Hague

Monday 17 May 2010

Last evening in Shanghai

Driving towards the glittering city centre.
China's tallest building: the Global Financial Centre
Shanghai

Sunday 16 May 2010

New....Yòòòòòòrk

Then it was my turn.
(Photo made by Selim)
Gran Melìa Shanghai Hotel

Friday 14 May 2010

In the evening, after a hard day's work in the fair...


...my very good friend since many years and excellent photographer, Selim (http://izmirdailyphoto.blogspot.com/) walking up stage for a singing session.
Gran Melìa Shanghai Hotel

Thursday 13 May 2010

Dancing creatures in glass

there is beautiful modern Art in China
Shanghai

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Sunday 9 May 2010

It was a long trip...

...but worth it every moment.
A Chinese mother with her child leaving for China
from Amsterdam Airport

Friday 23 April 2010

Childhood memories...

...in a wintery Spring
I am off to China and will be back on the 8th May, hopefully with interesting photos. See you then!
Lake-front
Arona

Wednesday 21 April 2010

The global crisis...


...has compelled many factories to close and many, while waiting to find a new job, are temporarily reinventing themselves. I do not know if it is the case of this young man, but it may likely not be the future he had in mind.  
Arona

Monday 19 April 2010