Cordoglio, L'Aquila

Fontana Luminosa, L'Aquila

This photo was taken in March of 2002. The fountain is located just 7.6 km from the epicenter of this morning's earthquake in central Italy. My heart goes out to the people in the beautiful city of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. Cordoglio.

Padre Pio goes to Doha

I was reading Dubai's Gulf News Online Yesterday when this reference to Padre Pio caught my eye.

The emotional ceremony reached its climax when Cardinal Diaz presented the chalice donated by the Holy Father to the Church and placed a relic of Saint Padre Pio Da Pietralcina in the altar during the dedication ceremony.

It comes from an interesting article on the dedication of the first Catholic Church in QatarPope greets Hamad on church opening

I first encountered the name of Padre Pio while driving around Italy’s spectacularly beautiful Gargano Peninsula (the spur above the heal of the boot on the Adriatic coast) in June of 2002. The Pope declared Padre Pio a saint on the 16th and his name and face were front page headline news on all of the newspapers on the newstands. It could not read the Italian text but it was pretty clear that the folks in the area were quite proud of their local Saint.

Wikipedia has many interesting things to say about Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, The Capuchin Friar famous for his stigmata and the patron saint of stress relief and the January blues.

Padre Pio was assigned to Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo. Except for a brief time during WWI, Padre Pio remaned there until his death.

The reference to Padre Pio inspired me to post a few photos taken on that spectacular drive.

Fishing at Vieste

Clicking on the photos will take you to my Flickr photo set of photos from the Gargano Peninsula where you can see a slide show or download full size images.

Gargano Coast

On to Scanno

Previously I wrote about visiting Castrovalva. This is easily done as a side trip on the way to the more popular destination of Scanno, also the subject of an M. C. Escher work.

A Street in Scanno, Abruzzo Italy

Escher’s 1930 woodcut, Street in Scanno, Abruzzi can be seen on the home page (and in the gallery) of the Official M. C. Escher Web Site. Escher’s view looks toward my camera position.

Scanno, just 100 miles and a couple of centuries away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, is a breath of fresh air and should not be missed.

The Road to Scanno

The drive south through the Valle del Sagittario on SR479 is simply spectacular, reminding me of an earlier drive up the Big Thompson Canyon from Loveland Colorado to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

In the photo above, taken from Castrovalva, a portion of the road just south of Anversa Degli Abruzzi is seen. South to Scanno is to the left.

The Road to Scanno 2	Lago di San Domenico
looking south from near Castrovalva	& Gole del Sagittario

Villalago

Rainbow over Lago di Scanno

Lago di San Domenico

Above, Lago di San Domenico, and Gole del Sagittario. The lake is a popular swimming and picnic spot.

I last wrote of reaching SR479 by exiting the A-25/E-80 Autostrada at the exit for Casale and Anversa Degli Abruzzi. This is correct but is not my best advice.

Unless you are really in a hurry (which is not a very good way to visit Italy), exit a bit earlier at Pescina and follow SR83, the old route over the mountain to Casale. It will add only about 20 minutes of driving time (and maybe 10 more stopping to say wow at the views) as you climb over the mountain (Montagna Grande) that the Autostrada tunnels through. You won't be disappointed.

Cocullo

The town of Cocullo sits just above the eastern portal of the Autostrada tunnel. If you take the Autostrada you will pass beneath the town underground. If you follow the route from Pescina you will see the town from above before passing through it.

Because Pescina and Casale are both accessible just off the Autostrada with no major towns in between, this beautiful road sees little auto traffic though it is quite popular among the local motorcyclists. Pescina also offers nice spots to stop for a bite to eat before continuing.

I have posted more photos from Abruzzo into photosets on my Flickr Photo Site

Please check out Abruzzo – Sud (South of A-25, includes Scanno photos), Abruzzo – Nord (North of A-25) and Abruzzo – Fucino (Fucino Valley). Many of the photos there are GeoTagged for location. Comments, suggestions and corrections are welcome and appreciated.

A Trip to Castrovalva

A Town in Abruzzo, An M.C. Escher Lithograph and the title of an episode in the BBC television series Dr. Who.

Castrovalva, Abruzzo Italy

I first saw Castrovalva from my car while driving the A25/E80 Autostrada between Avezzano and Pescara. The town is perched on a knife edge ridge off to your right shortly after you emerge from the tunnel Galleria San Domenico below Cocullo. From the highway, the town almost appears inaccessible. I had to find out how to get there.

The Road to Castrovalva

To reach the town you exit the A25 immediately after you emerge from the tunnel and travel through Casale and Anversa Degli Abruzzi. The road up to Castrovalva is a left turn shortly after Anversa Degli Abruzzi off SR479, the road south to Scanno through the Valle del Sagittario, between Monte Genzana and Montagna Grande. The road to the town climbs steeply up the western side of the hill via a series of switchbacks until a short tunnel just below the ridge line crosses over to the eastern side. A final switchback brings you into Castrovalva.

Castrovalva Rooftops

Castrovalva Street Views

The Edge of Town

The town was the subject of a 1930 Lithograph by M.C. Escher. I would love to include Escher’s image here but copyright prevents it. The best I can do is point you to the Wikipedia page for the print and to the Official M. C. Escher Website where Castrovalva and many other images are found in several galleries. I learned of the Escher connection only recently. Had I known, I could have attempted to locate his vantage point and recreate his view.

M. C. Escher's View (almost)

Escher’s view was apparently near the current road, shortly after it passes through the ridge line tunnel and prior to the last switch back. This is as close as I got. My view is from above the town. Little has changed except the Autostrada which can be seen entering the tunnel between Casale and Cocullo in the distance.

I have posted more photos from Abruzzo into photosets on my Flickr Photo Site

Please check out Abruzzo – Sud (South of A-25, includes Castrovalva photos), Abruzzo – Nord (North
of A-25) and Abruzzo – Fucino (Fucino Valley). Many of the photos there are GeoTagged for location. Comments, suggestions and corrections are welcome and appreciated.

I’ve Been Published

Sort of.

Stairwell Musei Vaticani

You descend the stairwell as you exit the Vatican Museum.

This photo appears in the August 2007 issue of the Rome edition of Where Magazine. It’s one of those magazines you find on the hotel night stand, along with the room service menu.

The photo won 3rd place in the magazine’s Favorite Views of Rome photo contest on Flickr, the photo sharing web site. My photo is printed in the corner at 2 inches tall. Still, it’s nice to see one of my favorite photos actually appear in a magazine.

Check out O Roma o morte, the first place photo (on Flickr). I really like it.

After seeing the Raphael Rooms, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the treasures of art and history in the museum this beautiful modern stairwell returns you to the streets and the hustle and bustle of the city of Rome. It is a visual reminder of the continuity of art, history and civilization that is the City of Rome.

The same image seen in black & white

Stairwell Musei Vaticani

Gondolas in the Morning

Early Morning in Venice

This was a poorly exposed shot on an overcast morning. I played with it in Photoshop LE until I got this image which I think better conveys the magic of Venice.

Walking around in Rome

Walking around in Rome is one of life’s pleasures that I wish everyone could enjoy. Anyone with an opportunity should take advantage of it. You won’t be disappointed.

Meanwhile, until I can find my way back to Rome, I found this really cool website where I can take a virtual walk in Rome. They have beautiful panoramic tours of many of my favorite spots in Rome. There is one taken from Ponte Vittorio Emanuele that is very nice. It has a beautiful view of Ponte San Angelo.

Another, taken from directly in front of Fontana di Trevi, is interesting for having not a single person in sight. You can see that it was done in the early AM before dawn but still no people at all at Trevi Fountain. That’s amazing.

There is a second panorama from the fountain with the tripod moved to the left. You can see that it is an hour or so later and a few people have entered the scene, two men who look like grocers or butchers have stopped on the way to work. They sit on the hand rail seemingly unaware of the fountain behind them.

This photo looking down on Piazza del Popolo is a good example of why it's time for a digital SLR. My Olympus suffers from parallax between the view finder and the main lens. The Obelisk was perfectly aligned down the center of the street in the view finder.

Check out roma.arounder.com, it may not be the second best thing to a walk in Rome but it’s pretty good.

The panoramas are full spherical pans, you can watch as a movie or use your mouse to pan anywhere. There are also panoramic tours of the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, The Forum, Piazza di Spagna, the Pantheon and Saint Peter’s Square. There are also beautiful views inside and outside of the churches of San Giovanni, Santa Maria Maggorie and San Paolo.

The Churches of Rome

The dome of the Sistine Chapel in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Follow this link for a panoramic tour inside this beautiful church. This is a really cool site, check it out.

Recently I installed Photoshop Elements on my PC. I have a plan to get my digital photos organized. No small task, I have six years and a dozen countries worth of photos scattered over my hard drive. Photoshop Elements should help. Should help, if I use it. You see, I recently installed Photoshop, more than a year after I bought it.

The problem is my habit of continuing to do a task in the familiar way, no matter how inefficient, rather than setting the task aside for a short while to find a more efficient process. I do it even knowing that a better way is available and that it is within my abilities. The task must be done. I don’t have time to learn a better way now. I’ll do it when the task is done. But then, the task is done. It can wait.

I have Limited Edition Photo Shop. It came with my Olympus camera. I’m familiar with it and it does what I need. For moving pictures around I use windows explorer and put stuff where I want. So I was reluctant to get started with Elements. I have to unlearn old habits. I can’t move, copy and rename photos with explorer. Elements loses track of them. I have to learn to work within the application.

In any case, my first effort with Elements is organizing a years worth of pictures taken in Rome. Rome is best seen on foot. It is a beautiful city for walking around and taking pictures. My habit while walking, with or without camera, was to enter any church with open door that I passed. There are so many beautiful churches, large or small, ancient or merely old. Each is a living work of art. One need not be religious to enter or to be awed. You do need to be respectful of those who are, to be welcome.

Tourists are welcome in Rome’s churches and not just the ones in the tourist books. Some do not welcome tourists during mass and post a sign saying so near the door. Be respectful and never take flash pictures. It is not permitted, it’s harmful to the art and it doesn’t usually work well anyway.

You can’t use flash and tripods are not permitted in the major churches. (The no tripod rule is to prevent unauthorized commercial photography. Kind of like selective availability on GPS except that they didn’t turn it off.) You can still get nice photos. Find a place and a way to set your camera down to hold it still for the needed longer exposures; use timer release if you have it. I frequently used my ball cap and the camera strap to hold and point the camera. A small beanbag would be perfect. Take advantage of whatever you can find to set the camera on (respect do not touch signs please). Sometimes just set it on the floor and point it up. You will get surprisingly good pictures (with some surprising angles too).

I have posted some pictures of the churches of Rome on my Flickr photo site. These are the first of my photos that have been readied for posting with Photoshop Elements. Stop by and check them out. Leave a comment, make suggestions let me know what you think.

Site Seeing in Italy

For far too many hours of nearly a year, this was my view of Italy. The corner of my desk at Telespazio (check out the quickBird satellite phots on the link )
i.e. Centro Spazio del Fucino Piero Fanti, in Italy’s Fucino Valley.

The Fucino valley is near Avezzano in Abruuzzo, in mountainous central Italy. The valley, once a lake, has no natural outlet, The lake was first drained by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. . The site is major telecommunications portal and home to more than 100 satellite dishes, some more than 30 meters in diameter. The site is also home to the remains of the ship Marconi used to send his first wireless message. Click on the picture to see the view outside the office.

My three sons are seen in the picture in the center. It was taken far too long ago on the Shore of Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The aspirin bottle on the desk is nearly empty; that says a lot in it’s self. I miss my bright ceramic coffee mugs. I bought four different ones in a shop in Avezanno. I left them behind when I moved to my next assignment.

The book is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I liked the movie, I’m a big Nicholas Cage fan, and Penelope Cruz doesn’t hurt either. Buy it paperback and tear out the last chapter before reading it. The ending is just not believable. Watch the movie, the director does it better than the author.