Tag Archives: historic

Photographs: Agriculture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Interior, Duomo di Siena

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Interior, Duomo di Siena
“Interior, Duomo di Siena” — An elevated view of the of the interior of the Duomo di Siena.

When we travel we prefer finding our own way over relying on guided travel. In our experience, a big part of the value of travel comes from things like feeling somewhat out of your element, encountering unanticipated things and events, and even just devoting some time to wandering. However, there are times and places when paying for guided access can get you to place that are otherwise inaccessible. That’s how we ended up on a guided tour of Siena’s Duomo, one that took us high up into the upper reaches of this remarkable structure.

I made the photograph on this tour. As we crossed over from one side of the roof area to the other we passed a portal into the cathedral, and it provided a remarkable perspective on the interior and, far below, the floor of the duomo. (One other advantage of this tour? It started well before the crowds arrived.)

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Torre del Mangia, Siena

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Torre del Mangia, Siena
“Torre del Mangia, Siena” — Overview of a portion of historic central Siena with the Torre del Mangia.

This might be one of the more traditional “travel photographs” that I’ve shared, but I think it is a pretty interesting one for what it illustrates about the old, central part of Siena, Italy. The dominant feature is the tower, the Torre del Mangia, located next to the Campo, or central square of the city, famous for its horse races.

But beyond that singular feature, there are a lot of other details in the scene. I photographed from a slightly elevated position just at the edge of the old part of the town, and the rising hill reveals just how densely packed the buildings are — and how much the town’s layout comes from an era when people got around by walking rather than driving.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Interior, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site

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Interior, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site
“Interior, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site” — An interior space on the grounds of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i San Pau.

As I continue working on photographs from our summer 2023 visit to Barcelona, here is another from the Saint Pau Art Nouveau Site, originally the Hospital de la Santa Creu i San Pau. The immense grounds of the “hospital” were vacated when the hospital relocated to a newer facility. Eventually those who did not want to lose this remarkable example of modern art nouveau architecture managed to begin the work of restoring and maintaining it.

Some buildings, such as the large main entrance facing the street, are fully and gloriously restored. Others, like this old hospital ward building, await restoration. For now the latter have been cleared out and stabilized, but the interiors are quite bare. (A large photograph at the far end of this room shows what it might have looked like when it was still a working hospital.)

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Deserted Street, Orvieto

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Deserted Street, Orvieto
“Deserted Street, Orvieto” — A narrow, deserted street in the Italian hill town of Orvieto.

It can be a challenge to photograph these narrow streets without people in a popular town such as Orvieto. One strategy is to photograph late in the day and even into the evening, but sometimes an even more promising approach is to go out very early. Most of the tourists aren’t out then, instead sleeping in before a leisurely breakfast in the morning or sitting in a restaurant in the evening. The difference is even greater in Orvieto, where many of the visitors only come for the day, heading back to their “home base” for the evening.

All of the streets here are narrow, but this is an even narrower side street. Unlike the familiar American grid street layout, there the narrow passageways curve and twist and take off in surprising directions. Several things in this photograph intrigue me. First, essentially everything you see is stone masonry, from the cobbled path to the walls and arches. Second, I suspect that these arches serve multiple purposes — both as passageways and to brace the facing buildings.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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