Tag Archives: tower

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

Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley

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Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley
“Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley” — A Piaggio Ape utility vehicle parked against a wall in an alley, Orvieto.

We spent several days in the hill town of Orvieto, Italy last summer. We understand that many visitors arrive on day trips from Rome, but we were ready for a few days in a smaller, quieter place after visiting bigger cities like Milan and Florence. One of the fun things about staying overnight in the “day trip” cities is that they become much quieter in the evening and early morning after most visitors depart! We were out on a random walk, exploring the fringes of the town, when I saw this scene.

Working on the photograph sent me off into a world I did not know about. I had seen these little three-wheeled utility vehicles elsewhere in Italy — they are very practical on these narrow streets — but I didn’t know what to call them. A quick search turned up the name “Piaggio Ape,” where “Ape” refers to “bee.” Further reading led to the history of the things. As I understand it they essentially began as Vespa scooters with three wheels, and were then adapted into small trucks and vans.

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

Santa Maria della Pieve Church, Arezzo

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Santa Maria della Pieve Church, Arezzo
“Santa Maria della Pieve Church, Arezzo” — Dark skies just before a storm breaks over the Chiesa Santa Maria della Pieve on the Grande PIazza, Arezzo, Italy

As I promised a while ago, there will be more photographs from our ten-weeks of Southern European travel in the summer of 2023. This one comes from the Italian town of Arezzo. This was one our stops in some smaller towns, and it was pleasant to have a bit of downtime between larger and better-known cities. This view shows the Santa Maria della Sieve church next to the Grande Piazza.

There were thunderstorms in the area on this afternoon, and when we arrived at the Grande Piazza the sky looked ominous. We planned to explore, perhaps checking out restaurant options before getting lunch. But within minutes the skies opened up and we made a run for the nearest place, where we got a table under an awning and watched the storm.

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.

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

Orvieto Rooftops

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Orvieto Rooftops
Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Orvieto Rooftops. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Our 2023 European travels took us mostly (with only a few day’s worth of exceptions) to the southern part of the continent. We spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Croatia… and also visited Kosovo and briefly passed through places including Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro. Along the way we did visit some of the very popular places, those that are predictably crowded during the summer tourist season. But we also managed to spend time in some slightly less-visited places, among them a couple of smaller towns in Italy.

One of these was the “hilltop town” of Orvieto in Umbria. It would not be accurate to suggest that this is a place without tourists. In fact, it is a very popular destination for daytime visits from other nearby locations. But we stayed there for a couple of nights and saw a different aspect of the place. In the mornings and after day-trippers depart in the late afternoon it is much quieter and far less crowded. In fact, it turned out to be one of our favorite places of the entire trip.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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