Category Archives: Photographs: Italy

Road Through Castello di Ama

Road Through Castello di Ama
A narrow old road passes between buildings at Castello di Ama, Italy

Road Through Castello di Ama. Tuscany, Italy. August 22, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A narrow old road passes between buildings at Castello di Ama, Italy

In this area of Italy, small and sometimes very old villages like this are everywhere. The country roads pass through many of them and traverse past others. But there are more off of the road ways, and you can often spot them in the distance across nearby valleys and hills. Some are still active, others have been purchased and are now private (perhaps as wineries, etc.), and some have been left to decay.

This one was purchased decades ago and is in the heart of a winery surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards. A small number of people still live here, too. I would probably most often try to photograph such a place in the softer light earlier or later in the day, but this is a midday photograph — partly for the practical reason that this is when I was there (!) but also because I’m starting to like the somewhat start light here in the middle of the day, too. About that light: Often it seems to have a kind of softness to it, even when the sun is high in the sky, that I rarely see in the western United States.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Caffe’ La Curva #1

Caffe' La Curva #1
Sunday morning visitors outside Caffe’ La Curva, Panzano

Caffe’ La Curva #1. Panzano, Chianti, Italy. August 21, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunday morning visitors outside Caffe’ La Curva, Panzano

On this lazy Sunday morning in the Chianti region of Italy we had gotten up, made coffee, and sat around for a couple of hours before we remembered that we really needed to do some shopping… and that many things would be closed here today. We did some quick research and found that there was a market in this little town a half hour from our location and that it would be open only for another hour and a half. It was suddenly time to go!

Before we arrived we began to see cars parked everywhere along the road and parking wasn’t easy to find — the result, no doubt, of this being the only market open in the area on this morning. We found parking and walked up the small square, which was jam-packed with shoppers and others. The road continued on into the town, where there was just barely enough room for its two lanes to fit between buildings as it curved past and over the high point on the ridge. Across the street I saw this small caffe’, aptly named for the narrow curve, and I waited to photograph people coming and going.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight
A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight. Bologna, Italy. August 18, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Our August trip took us from Germany, where we spent five days in Heidelberg, south toward Italy. We drove, stopping for the first night in Munich, and then continuing on the Bologna for a night. Because we got a late start from Munich we didn’t arrive in Bologna until around sunset. We made our way to our (somewhat unusual — but a story for another time) hotel, got settled, and then decided it was time to find some dinner and look around a bit.

So we emerged from our abode onto a darkened street and soon realized that Bologna was, at least at this time on this evening, nothing at all like the northern European places we had come from. (An experienced ex-pat with how we traveled explained that Bologna isn’t exactly on the same travel map as a lot of other Italian cities.) The streets were dark, as most of the meager street lights had not yet come on. The area we were in seemed to have no vegetation at all. The streets were virtually deserted. I said that it had a kind of post-apocalyptic feeling. We found a nice restaurant (on another virtually deserted street) and sat down almost alone to have dinner. The experienced member of our group said to wait a bit, that at 9:00 or so it was still too early for many people, and that big groups would soon appear, trying to get out after the heat of the day. He was right. Soon others came to the restaurant, and when we visited a nearby square after eating we found lots of people, including this group at a cafe, just a few minutes before midnight.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | LinkedIn | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.