Where do you want to go ?
There is bright sun today in much of Italy. In Positano it bounces off the shiny majolica tiles, and is nearly blinding. Everyone has cast off their coats.
If my children were there, they would be in bathing suits and already in the water.
As the North American east coast prepares for a true nor’easter, Venice is serenely enjoying its aquatic presepio, set up off the shores of Burano.
The artisans of Venice have put up their tree, and it is magnificent, a tribute to music and traditional artisanship.
In the markets, Romans are buying artichokes, including that special Roman variety called carciofo romanesco, which once you have eaten you will never forget.
Just a few minutes away from the artichokes, Marcus Aurelius and his magnificent horse prevail over a near empty Piazza del Campidoglio. (My parents were married there, in 1959, and it is the Roman outdoor place I go to most often for inspiration and serenity.)
In Tuscany, there is such comfort, in a surreal year, in admiring at dusk a timeless, olive-tree covered landscape that could be Roman, Renaissance, 19th century or contemporary. Galileo lived at the top of this road between 1631 until his death in 1642, and looked out on a scene very much like that one we see today.
In southern Tuscany, the cathedral of Pienza is another steadying sight : the most magnificent monument of this Renaissance “ideal town”, excecuted by Rossellino in 1459 and influenced by Renaissance humanist Alberti.
In Trento, the magnificent fir is up in Piazza del Duomo…
And the Castello del Buonconsiglio (where a 1400 fresco portrays the first painted snowy landscape) is decked out with its holiday lights.
I hope that all of these pictures — holiday time Italy being itself — will give you delight, and that you will begin to put some thought into your next Italy trip. Shall we schedule an Italy trip themed Zoom conversation with your family or friends ? We’d love to too ! Contact us ! Make family and friends happy with our Gift Certificates, applicable to trips in 2021 and 2022.
Where do you want to go ?
