Addicted to Dawn

While you were all still asleep this morning

Arona

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

When the lights were still on...

...this morning

Arona

The old courtyard...

...at dawn

Arona

Dawn

Fishing harbour

Arona

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

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

Welcome Autumn...

Arona

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.

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.

Nature is warning us

What remains of an important glacier at 2.200 meters height

Macugnaga

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

The swimming pool

Codevilla

Summer light...

...in black and white

Arona

Evening light...

...with a touch of photoshop

outside Arona

Patience...

Arona

What seems evening light...

...is early morning light

Arona

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.

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.

A quiet late afternoon...

...on the Isle of Hydra

Greece