Epoca di raccolta ciliegie in Italia……

Ciao tutti, by now everyone will have seen the images of the villages and town around Modena Italy. Sunday at 4am we were woken by the house shaking, we ran outside with the dog……it was a warm night. The house was ok, a few cracks around doorways…but l thought perhaps this was a 4 on the richter scale so somewhere somebody will have got it worse….

There were two tremors this morning at 6.50 and just after 7am, not a lot to worry about and certainly nothing so bad as the poor folks in Modena and Ferrara  have suffered.

Well life goes on…here the cherry trees are full of fruit, since the tracks are full of water and mud after the recent torrential rain l pulled out some images from last year, the first time l took shots of this work.

Mario, up the tree with his bucket! The Po plain down below where you can see the suburbs of Verona…its all flat down there.

Helping hands, sorting the cherries, taking out the bruised and damaged before crating and then  off to the cherry market.

Keep ‘em coming, lots more to sort!

Up in the top vineyard this woman is hard at work early in the morning.

The fruit looks delicious, l made lots of jam last year, a pig of a job to take all the pips out but worth it in the end. We had cherry preserve with ham, chicken, speck, cheese,  toast…….hmmmm will have to get out sooner than later and start collecting.

When the trees are trimmed,  branches cut down, they dry off the timber like this….

Old vines mixed with cherry logs, when dried out used to heat house or fuel for a b-b-q. Will have to dig out wellies and when Nico returns from work head off to where l know there are some delicious dark cherries waiting to be picked!

Ciao amici, thanks for dropping by.

lynneotterphotographer.zenfolio.com

www.chromorange.com

rosso e verde in italia….

Ciao tutti,  the wonderful color of red is spread all over the countryside, it looks wonderful amongst the lush green grass beside the olive grove. These are my first shots after being laid up with a bad back for nearly 3 weeks. Can’t quite get down to grass level, l probably couldn’t get up again…and would probably fall over…probably eye to eye with a snake!!!   

These were taken at about 7am with a bright sunrise, l like this one with the flowers backlit by the sun, the red petals which contrasts nicely with the black buds.

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italia…citta e lago

Ciao amici, sorry been off site a bit, had a bad back which laid me up for ten days. Here are a few shots taken a couple of weeks ago prior to bad back.  l live in a valley and every bit of land is planted with vines and supported by posts both wooden and concrete, after a while l get to feel enclosed and long for a distant uninterrupted view….here are some images  in Verona and some taken at Lazise lago di garda.

By the river of Adige,where we sat down….we will remember……… Verona.

Nice to get shoes off for a bit……

Who pushed the ’tilt’ button?

Verona, outside the Arena, background are scenes for the opera which are transported in from the studios outside the city.

Bugga! My lottery numbers not come up!!!

You can tell it’s the tourist season, the commune puts potted plants around the city. Porta Bosari, Roman gateway. (back view) Borsari means bags, this gate was the trade entrance for the roman city and people had to pay a tax into the bags of the tax collectors, hence the name!

An 8th century church wall with potted plants. Lemon trees and pansys.

And now to the lake………a beautiful clear blue sunny sky before two weeks of thunder storms and rain!

A potted olive tree? No l think they planned the course around the growing tree…..not a grape vine in sight….goody!

These two shots are interesting in the absence of people  but l can’t wait to return when all the tourists are around.

Hey, some space at last……move along folks.

It’s a lovely sunny day and they’re reading books…..? Maybe they can’t wait to get to the sexy bits? l took a peek over their shoulders, English text!

Ships? I see no ships darling.

More space……….l will return after May when the whole landscape is full of half naked bodies sunbathing.

More space……

I enjoyed my time at the lake, it’s only 25 minutes from my place. Sometimes you need to have a change of landscape. I was also accompanied by Toto ( the little rascal) and believe me sometimes it’s not easy to control a pesky dog and take shots, still  he snuggled down in the car home and slept thru the journey…too much excitement for him.

Longing to return when all the German tourists are around, not one inch of space goes uncovered, even the pathways are full of stretched out bodies..great shots to take, l hope.

Thanks for dropping by, sorry l couldn’t get around to writing to my follow bloggers whom l follow (and vice versa) but my back muscles need time to build up some strength so limited time at the computer. I had over 200 emails to respond to and see all the photographs!

Take care, leave a comment.  ciao.

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feste di laurea Università di Verona

Ciao tutti, When l was in  Veronetta l headed off to see my friend Rosella, she lives near the university. Along the way l unexpectedly came across grad students celebrating their awards. Irresistable to me, like a bee to honey… lots of people, lots of fun……l headed over across the street and started shooting…..

traditional laureate head wear

First off I saw this man, first indication of award ceremony is the green laurel wreath!  He’s very conservatively dressed as you will see……..compared to…..

It gets more exciting and a little messy as you will see…..

 

She really was laughing at all this, food, party streamers, wine, flour. The students stand on a large plastic sheet and relatives and friends come along and ‘let ‘em have it’!

This little toddler caught my eye, quietly rummaging through all the bags as the students celebrate.

Good to have a helping hand.

lots of fun after hard work at uni…….glad l saw this and had my camera.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed.

veronetta, verona…italia

Ciao tutti, last Thursday was a good day lots of sun, after doing all my chores in the house headed off down to verona, was a flip of the coin between the lake or city. City won and l decided to go to the old part of Verona called Veronetta. Unfortunately for me it was late in the morning and the sun blinding….all those strong black shadows! Still off l went and parked the car under the trees that line the road that leads past the Roman Teatro, and close to Ponte Pietra, (stone bridge) another roman monument.

Walking past the bridge and past the teatro l turned left and headed up the street, left again and up san-pietro’s hill.

The church of Santa Libera, built inside the remains of the roman theatre.

The roman theatre started to be built  in the last 1/4 of the 1st century. They dug out part of the hill, at the same time all the stones dug up went in to the construction of the theater. This shot was taken from a small car park  at the side of the monument. The church was begun at the beginning of the 10th century in honor of S. Siro (Sirius). transformations took place later in the 14th and 17th centuries.

Old winding streets

You can see the original old medieval stone and bricks  thru the crumbling plaster on some of these houses.

Curch of S.Giovanni in Valle.

The original church  built in the 8th century was incorporated into the larger 12th century Romanesque  building. The doors and gates were locked so l managed to get some shots thru the iron railings.

Double pillars of the cloister, S,.Giovanni in Valle.

Cloister.

This is the first time for me wandering around this area and l promised myself to  return sometime when the church is open. All of Verona is an open air museum, it’s really amazing what you can see.

Entrance to the Gardens Giusti.

These gardens are the only formal italian gardens in Verona, and you have to pay to get in. They were laid out in 1580 it’s on a hill  so  there are a lot of steps! No thank-you, not today. The palace (courtyard where l’m stood to take this shot)Palazzo del Giardino Giusti, rebuilt at the end of the 16th century.

palaces in Veronetta, verona.

Finally down the hill and arrive on a main road in Veronetta, this road lined with renaissance palaces and houses leads to Vicenza, Paduva and Veniezia. The buildings are sadly in need of restoration work, unfortunately the area is not a tourist site  so not a lot of money is  spent on it. Also there are a lot of immigrants and their shops here, Moroccan,Indian, Bengladeshi, African side by side with the university and Italians.

It’s a great place to visit and see all the colorful and individual shops  if  l need curry sauce then it’s here that l buy it, or English products like porridge or crackers.  Since it was 12.30 the streets are deserted and shops are closed only the cafes are open. I take a break and have a coffee and  pastry.

The old palaces most  now  split up into individual apartments have been designed in the venetian fashion, the arched and delicate windows are an indication of venetian culture and influence in Verona. I wander around musing about the grand palaces and colorful veronese of the past renaissance period, built for show on the outside, defensive walls over a meter thick, heavy wooden doors that lead into spacious courtyards. It any  gates are open I nip in quick and take a peek around.

Here is building that’s gone thru a few identities, you can see original arches over the window, a mural depicting a saint, it felt as if it was being squeezed by the neighboring buildings? There are murals of this kind everywhere in Verona, so it’s not a rarity.

This building has had a facelift, its not as old as the palaces perhaps, it’s next to a church and you can see the old entrances with stone pillars on the left. I’m heading back to the car and teatro romano. I set out with the intention of documenting people in this area, like l said earlier once 12 noon arrives all head home and shut up shop for 3 hours.

However, l did get to meet the moroccan butcher who was having meat delivered….

It’s half a cow!!!! Heavy!!!

The guy delivering has a hard job, the meat is swung out on a hook and he has to position the carcass on his shoulder, it wasn’t balanced the first time and fell onto the road, hence all the guys assisting him the second time. I didn’t take a shot of the ‘fall’ would you have, l didn’t want to antagonize them or embarrass them, was l wrong?

I think Veronetta has a lot to offer and shall go back when l have more time,  ideally  in the mornings.

thanks for stopping by.

pallio di recioto, wine and bikes! Italia.

A boring job, Italy…

Ciao tutti, well it’s been pouring with rain, here in Negrar at easter time we have  the festival of a wine called Recioto. When it stopped raining l took my camera and headed into the village.

This is Negrar, Via mazzini, the little huts are put up for each wine producer who wishes to sell their produce, there are also stalls for food. Riso con Amarone, rice with the strong wine Amarone, pork sandwiches, bread, olives, speck (air dried ham)  and meat from boar.  You can buy some tickets for 5€ and get a small red bag which you put around your neck with a glass in it, then you go around choosing a stall you like and get a drink in exchange for a ticket, you get three drinks for 5€. The wine recioto is strong and sweet. People also buy a bottle and share with friends, alas most get loud and drunk. Usually l go to the lake for the 3 days but this year it rained! After the recioto finishes there is cycle race competitors from around the world come along with professional photographers, plus tv helicopters.The race takes place around the local hills and mountains and finishes in Negrar, l took a few shots up at the top of the lane and in the village. 

This is my first attempt at a professional cycle race, l’m afraid my lens isn’t quite good enough and these are the best ones.

The  riders do seven laps which is a grueling up hill, mountain and downhill thru the villages.

The final lap. I didn’t stick around for the finish after a couple of hours l got bored . I wasn’t too happy with the results and still miss using my Canon EOS 1N with a 18mm lens which was sooooo nice to use. Next year l may go up into the mountains and get some shots of the race when the cyclists are struggling uphill!

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment.

happy easter from italy….

Wonderful Wisteria, peeping from a garden in San Ambrogio village, Valpolicella Italy

The Judas tree, Cercis Siliquastrum, purple pea/heart shaped flowers, found in  Mediterranean and W.Asia. called the judas tree because originally typical tree of Judea, things got a bit mixed up in translations, interpretations. Also called flora of Lebanon. it’s at the top of my lane and stands proud and glorious!

People decorate their homes and doors for easter, crochet little coats for eggs, paint them, a free miniature chocolate easter egg with your coffee (in verona) and mostly it’s a time for family and friends to get together for a meal, usually lasting several hours.

Here’s my easter card for you all, little things ‘come together’ and placed in an olive tree.

Buona pasqua tutti.

All photographs copyright Lynne Otter. You can buy some of these images at www.chromorange.com.

Visit my new web page (my first !) It’s taken me a couple of weeks to get it all set up, see what you think, enjoy.

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Persone e monumenti di Verona Italia.

Ciao amici, here are some recent and the  past years work of people and monuments in Verona, enjoy, leave a comment.

Castelvecchio, Verona.

This monument of Castelvecchio, literally meaning old castle, is my favorite site and l always park my car around the corner so l get to walk past it! Originally this was built out of the town’s boundary in 1355 by Cangrande II (one of Veronas’ rulers). It’s a fortress and has an integral bridge that crosses the river Adige  and links up the route to Germany, one of the reasons the Germans blew it up during the 2nd world war when they were retreating.  The Veronese after the war collected all the stones and rebuilt it, they found that the original engineers, stone masons had cut  a number into the stones and therefore it was easy to rebuild it.

A wi-fi hot spot.

This student/tourist is making use of the free wi-fi connection in the Piazza Bra, which has a small park with huge trees to sit under.

You’ll notice the oddly dressed man?  Touting for money and picture poses from tourists. this street leads into Piazza Bra and at the other end leads into Piazza erbe and also Via Cappello, where  case di Giulietta is, here’s that famous balcony…….

Of course you do realize that the balcony is a fake…don’t you? It was added to the building in the 19th century to fit in with Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet play. Before that it had a balcony that ran the whole length of the building, just like the one above it. All the walls were covered in love graffiti a couple of years ago, it looked awful, so the local town hall decided to clean it up  and appoint a ‘watcher’ a poor young woman who must guard the walls, and they also fitted  a low railing to deter people from leaving a mark. Needless to say the graffiti folk found other areas to mark, bit like my dog really he likes to leave his mark everywhere!

Shop till ya drop girls!

Well they are quite loaded up with goodies from Via Mazzini, resting their legs,on the bridge of  Castlevecchio.

The ‘Amarone ‘is grown in the vineyards where l live, l munch on the grapes every year as l do my walks and take my photos.

This is the level of the street then that the romans walked on, about a couple of metres down now! You can see more in a nearby museum, which is also a photography gallery.

Another one of my favorite places is Piazza Erbe, these are 14th century buildings The Mazzanti houses, originally split into shops, warehouses apartments, the upper part used as a cornstore house by the Scaligeri (rulers of Verona).

Also in Piazza erbe restaurants and cafes, where those pesky pigeons also like to eat!

Torists buying souvenirs in PiazzaErbe’s open air market.Once a stall holder argued with me for taking pictures so l asked her customer if she minded,  she said no so l took her photo instead with her daughter and masks!As a photographer you are allowed to take pictures in public, but if folk really object l try to calm them down or look for another ‘take on it’. It pays to be nice, so you can always return…..

This is at the shorter end of the piazza, the architecture is quite out of character for Verona It’s 17th century Baroque, and has statues that represent, Hercules, jupiter,Venus, Mercury, Apollo, and Minerva.

The column has the Lion of  St Mark’s ( Venetian republic) the open book between its paws shows that the city is at peace and not at war (then the book would be depicted closed). Veronese citizens erected the column made of white marble in order to be pardoned for their pro-imperial (Hapsburg) feelings in 1542. In 1797 the French demolished the lion and  the present day one was set in place in 1886.

Piazza Erbe is the site of the old Roman Forum, not like in Rome where it’s an archeological ruin, we still meet in our forum!

I couldn’t help but notice this bystanders wallet , l hope he didn’t lose it, ripe for pickpocketers, jeez!  The Liston, Piazza Bra. the pavements in Verona are of Marble, pink, quarried up in the mountains. It’s hard to walk on , literally kills the feet! It reflects back the heat from the sun in summer and retains the cold in winter, you need to keep sunshades on when its sunny it dazzle you!

Oh the poor tourists, tired out, this couple look so British to me. I thought that this monument was the old ‘stock’ where thieves were publicly punished, but no, can you guess what it was used for?

it’s in the market place of piazza Erbe, it was used to measure cloth, wood and grain, the grooves in the column measured wood and the circle of metal was for wheat.

This is the Loggia del consiglio, Town Hall, a renaissance building again with statues atop, in Piazza die signori. ( square of the lords)

Well it’s all too much for some folk, what a place to sleep, riverside  bench and a view of the Hill of San Pietro, also home of the Roman Theatre. Maybe he doesn’t like all this cultural stuff? Nice jumper though.

I love this bridge so old, Roman, with a medieval tower and old houses, thank goodness the water isn’t flood water and not muddy, made my day to get a decent shot. Now it takes a good 30 mins fast walk to get back across the city to castelvecchio, it’s taken me 2 hours to get here stopping to take photos and set up shots. My meter money must be about finished, l’d best get a move on then….

On this site a new cathedral was dedicated in 780, today the cathedral is a mix and you can’t see the original romanesque built after the 1117 earthquake, this detail on a column is from the 15th century, l like its simplicity and the women with the long hair twisted together.

Back at Castlevecchio and around the corner to a little cafe facing the castle where I intend to have a cold iced coffee before heading back to the hills, just enough time at least 5 minutes left on the meter! Ciao.

Thanks for stopping by.

All photographs are copyright of Lynne Otter .

More work can be seen and bought at www.chromorange.com.

wandering around an old fortress….italy

Ciao amici, here are some photos taken at Monte  Mollinary  up in the mountains in the Lessini range, north of Verona. The fort was built by the occupying Austrians 1849-1852 during the Wars of Independence, to resist the Italian states. You won’t find this on the tourist map, the road is high above marble quarries, you take a long walk through the village until you reach the last house and then a slippery and difficult path with rocks that are real ankle twisters..then you see the entrance…

It was very hot a couple of  weeks ago and there’s always the danger of snakes!

And this is the entrance that l walked under, it’s falling down! The wire frame meant to deter people had been pulled back, so in l went. Notice those scary steps on the wall…..

It’s quite big and it must have held 5 large artillery guns.The stone is rosso amnoutico  and was quarried locally.

What a view no wonder they built it here it’s amazing how far you can see, unfortunately  it’s a sunny day, about mid-day and  the sun is right in my lens! Below right is the route to Austria, germany and Switzerland, the right – front, to Verona and Lombardy (the state in revolt at the time of the wars).

You can see for miles, down below is the river Adige that runs through Verona, the modern canal that stops flood water reaching the city, the old road on left of the river, you can’t see the motorway, the autostrada, route A22, the hills are blocking the view.

This is the road through the village, traditional stone built houses and around the corner! I think they’ve utilized an old roman stone monument as a seat under the shrine. Most villages here are changing, with gentrification, the veronese making their weekend retreats , more large expensive cars versus locals transportation, Monte still hang on to it’s original state due to the fact that it’s really on the road to nowhere, it’s very high about 420 metres, which means snow in winter, and a long and narrow road from San Ambrogio the main town and several local quarries. But, the views are great, the air fresh and the people friendly. Who knows?

Leave a comment….thanks for stopping by. Ciao

alcune immagini di Italia …

Ciao amici, l am so fed-up with working at the computer, endless metadata, upload, imports, develop….blah…blah…..but it has to be done. Iv’e got a new web page and it’s meant spending a lot of time sorting out photos to be added and under different galleries, some time soon…l will add my own choice of music from my cd collection.

Well, here are  a few recent photos taken around and about….enjoy…leave a comment! 

I make no excuses, l love the spring weather, the hills are nearly white with all the fruit and nut trees in blossom. Last sunday started off as if a storm may arrive and l knew this orchard on the hill would be contrasted nicely with the stormy sky, so off l drove (about 10 mins) and here it is.

This is from a village in the mountains, called Monte,  monday we drove there ,it was closed, yes the whole village was shut! No bar, niente! drove to a restaurant further along , it was closed, drove up to san giorgio, the road was –  yeah you guessed it,closed….took the hint and went home. At home opened a bottle of wine and sat on the balcony watching the blossom trees.

Oh, if you are wondering, the plastic bottles of water are not for parched travelers, they are to stop cats peeing on the curtain. You often see the same thing down in Verona.

Monte, monday is wash day…….apparently.

Monte, God knows why they’ve put this on the wall.I suppose it’s a change from all the shrines and religious artifacts!

Went to see what all the noise was about down in Negrar, after the carnival, last sunday, the young folks relaxed and partied in their costumes.

Some good discussions going on here…always will be after a few drinks, eh?

If you stuck this in an art gallery, you could title it ‘world music’, heh, heh.

Hey here pilgrim! Think they made a wrong turn and ended up in our village, never seen pilgrims before for carnival.

Somethings wrong with their heads? Notice those shoes, not pilgrim ones, very italian though.

What a good dog, l explain to Toto, that he too should be calm and relaxed, he doesn’t pay any heed and barks his disapproval of the black dog.

The weather has improved and it’s 25 degrees with slight winds, l’m in summer sleeveless dresses and sandals, yippee. the other day whilst walking in the vineyards l saw a long black snake, luckily he heard me on the track and slithered away before Toto saw him. It’s too dry and we need some rain the earth is cracked in the vineyards, maybe at the weekend…?

thanks for stopping by, ciao, ciao.