photocat
Nov-14-2006, 08:40 AM
Where were we?
Right, at the hidden corner, the yellow court yard, where I was struck by some devine force, it made me realize that this was a special treat to have found this place.
It is time to slowly go down and go take a peek at the main campo.
Not without noticing this little wall art piece, without a head though, it is just a cape... I am sure that someone knows what it is about.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739418-L.jpg
I discover a church once again, with a fresco above the door. Fascinating how religion sipps through Italian life. I saw a priest this week on television, and he too wondered why his church does not attract people, unless it is to look at the painted ceilings and walls.
I could easily give him an answer, but then the pope would not be happy with me, so I will leave my comments out.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739521-L.jpg
I zoom in closer to the fresco, what magical painters they had, with a total knowledge of how to make colors. They knew exactly how to mix their paints and oils to get the right tint. They used old methods, spices and earthly produce to get where they wanted to be.
As spices were extremely expensive, surely in the first days of East India company travel, paints were godsends, it was alchemy to brew a new color.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739653-L.jpg
Again a beautiful wooden panel on a door, with exquisite carving..
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739717-L.jpg
Another one of those glass cupboards attached against the wall, a little chapel on its own, with a blue Mary with child.
In front of it is porcelain in the colours of the area we are in.
Blue red is one of the color spaced divides of Siena, each neighborghood has its own colors, and they defend them too.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739794-L.jpg
Hard to take pics through the glass, as for some strange reason my polarizer filter is not on my lens. What did I do with it? I normally keep my polarizers on all the time. (I know, you should not, but I do...)
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739844-L.jpg
A wooden door, funny that big doors usually have smaller parts that actually open, they frame the door in the door itself. You can see how much smaller people were a few centuries ago. The doors are way below my head point, I have to bend down to enter them.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739930-L.jpg
A copper door bel, three levels, in Italian : 3 P, P being a floor, piano.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740003-L.jpg
A flag is still up, playing in the sunlight... A left over from the Pallio, the big race in Siena, with horses running through the streets.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740040-L.jpg
More weathered doors, the further you go out of the center, the more weathered the doors are. The doors in the main street often have a special waxed feel, and have the structure of the wood brought out in the best way.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740082-L.jpg
A leopard roars on the blue-red lantarns... I need to find out what the colors mean, and if the animals have a meaning.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740121-L.jpg
The medieval dressing code, still on today when the pallio brings Siena to life
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740169-L.jpg
A little grocery store, fruit arranged as if it was ready to be painted. Impossible to look at it and not buy some.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740228-L.jpg
The cheese store has a bike in bamboo to present its value...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740284-L.jpg
Whenever you get to Tuscany, try out some of their fantastic salami's...
They have lots of different kinds and sizes, and they all taste better then the other.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740333-L.jpg
They know how to prepare Boar too in Tuscany, lots of dishes have the animal cooked in it.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740377-L.jpg
Siena is a city without green, I found in total 1 tree! UNO!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740435-L.jpg
A courtyard with a well. The wells were essential for social life, the well in every courtyard was of capital importance, they value water in those high and dry areas. No gaming with it... Maybe one of the reasons why they don't have trees, who would know?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740472-L.jpg
Looking out back on the street from the courtyard with the well, a couple reading their map...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740509-L.jpg
And of course we have hair dressers in Siena
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740594-L.jpg
Time to go and find the public palace on the main campo
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740630-L.jpg
High rise has a special meaning here...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740856-L.jpg
It is october, and the city is deserted compared to the summer months, yet there is still a respectable amount of people present.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740922-L.jpg
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740998-L.jpg
I don't get the 88 meter high bell tower in my frame, not if I want to include some of the people in the foreground. The campo is divided in sun and shade, it is normal to just sit wherever you find a spot, and you can do anything, read a book, just bask, enjoy the people...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741045-L.jpg
When I get back there, I want to walk into the little street between those two blocks of houses, as there is a famous flower market to explore.
I staid mostly in one area of the city, (the duomo area) as I only had one day... There is no way you can shoot Siena in depth in one day.
You need a lifetime for it...
I have a chat with the owner of Georgio and Amanda, two sausage dogs. As I call them... Georgio is more laid back, Amanda nearly strangles herself as she wants to jump out of her collier. Funny little dogs
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741330-L.jpg
Why O why do I only have one day here?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741429-L.jpg
Another possible route, I need to go through a narrow passage in the dark, and I am easily scared, so I RUN to be in the sunlight again...
One never knows if a medieval Siena local is still haunting strangers...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741459-L.jpg
A functional door, different locks, a cat or dog hole in the bottom part?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741543-L.jpg
I enter another color neighborgood, this is green orange...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741591-L.jpg
I am at the back side of the Duomo. Time for coffee!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741646-L.jpg
Another reason to come back, to just see the inside of the Duomo. I choose to stay outside, so I missed a beautiful spot inside...
Next time!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741706-L.jpg
Italians practice la Dolce Vita in full, they know how to ceize the day... Carpe Diem all the time!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741810-L.jpg
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741874-L.jpg
A small family
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741952-L.jpg
Benetton, name in Italy... Known for its provocing advertising campaigns
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742014-L.jpg
Fashion is no idle word
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742053-L.jpg
The head is laughing with us silly mortals
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742089-L.jpg
I go to the meeting place as it is again time to go home, BEEEUHHHHH
and I see Michael reading his newspaper. You can see him from afar with his hat...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742133-L.jpg
Michael is a photographer, shot his career for Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and elle, there might be magazines that I forget here, he was a notorious fashion photographer in his career days. If only I could borrow his mind for a couple of weeks, so I can pick his brain...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742171-L.jpg
The Francesco church... attached to a theological college
With the little chapel next to it, a lamb on top
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742239-L.jpg
View towards the outer side of Siena
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742317-L.jpg
A speeding pinguin... I would have had two shots if that darn truck had not blocked my view...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742953-L.jpg
Again time to go home, to Il Pero, one last quick shot out of the car
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109743152-L.jpg
And by the time we get almost home, the moon is out
(to be continued)
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109743211-L.jpg
Right, at the hidden corner, the yellow court yard, where I was struck by some devine force, it made me realize that this was a special treat to have found this place.
It is time to slowly go down and go take a peek at the main campo.
Not without noticing this little wall art piece, without a head though, it is just a cape... I am sure that someone knows what it is about.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739418-L.jpg
I discover a church once again, with a fresco above the door. Fascinating how religion sipps through Italian life. I saw a priest this week on television, and he too wondered why his church does not attract people, unless it is to look at the painted ceilings and walls.
I could easily give him an answer, but then the pope would not be happy with me, so I will leave my comments out.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739521-L.jpg
I zoom in closer to the fresco, what magical painters they had, with a total knowledge of how to make colors. They knew exactly how to mix their paints and oils to get the right tint. They used old methods, spices and earthly produce to get where they wanted to be.
As spices were extremely expensive, surely in the first days of East India company travel, paints were godsends, it was alchemy to brew a new color.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739653-L.jpg
Again a beautiful wooden panel on a door, with exquisite carving..
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739717-L.jpg
Another one of those glass cupboards attached against the wall, a little chapel on its own, with a blue Mary with child.
In front of it is porcelain in the colours of the area we are in.
Blue red is one of the color spaced divides of Siena, each neighborghood has its own colors, and they defend them too.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739794-L.jpg
Hard to take pics through the glass, as for some strange reason my polarizer filter is not on my lens. What did I do with it? I normally keep my polarizers on all the time. (I know, you should not, but I do...)
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739844-L.jpg
A wooden door, funny that big doors usually have smaller parts that actually open, they frame the door in the door itself. You can see how much smaller people were a few centuries ago. The doors are way below my head point, I have to bend down to enter them.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109739930-L.jpg
A copper door bel, three levels, in Italian : 3 P, P being a floor, piano.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740003-L.jpg
A flag is still up, playing in the sunlight... A left over from the Pallio, the big race in Siena, with horses running through the streets.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740040-L.jpg
More weathered doors, the further you go out of the center, the more weathered the doors are. The doors in the main street often have a special waxed feel, and have the structure of the wood brought out in the best way.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740082-L.jpg
A leopard roars on the blue-red lantarns... I need to find out what the colors mean, and if the animals have a meaning.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740121-L.jpg
The medieval dressing code, still on today when the pallio brings Siena to life
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740169-L.jpg
A little grocery store, fruit arranged as if it was ready to be painted. Impossible to look at it and not buy some.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740228-L.jpg
The cheese store has a bike in bamboo to present its value...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740284-L.jpg
Whenever you get to Tuscany, try out some of their fantastic salami's...
They have lots of different kinds and sizes, and they all taste better then the other.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740333-L.jpg
They know how to prepare Boar too in Tuscany, lots of dishes have the animal cooked in it.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740377-L.jpg
Siena is a city without green, I found in total 1 tree! UNO!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740435-L.jpg
A courtyard with a well. The wells were essential for social life, the well in every courtyard was of capital importance, they value water in those high and dry areas. No gaming with it... Maybe one of the reasons why they don't have trees, who would know?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740472-L.jpg
Looking out back on the street from the courtyard with the well, a couple reading their map...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740509-L.jpg
And of course we have hair dressers in Siena
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740594-L.jpg
Time to go and find the public palace on the main campo
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740630-L.jpg
High rise has a special meaning here...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740856-L.jpg
It is october, and the city is deserted compared to the summer months, yet there is still a respectable amount of people present.
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740922-L.jpg
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109740998-L.jpg
I don't get the 88 meter high bell tower in my frame, not if I want to include some of the people in the foreground. The campo is divided in sun and shade, it is normal to just sit wherever you find a spot, and you can do anything, read a book, just bask, enjoy the people...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741045-L.jpg
When I get back there, I want to walk into the little street between those two blocks of houses, as there is a famous flower market to explore.
I staid mostly in one area of the city, (the duomo area) as I only had one day... There is no way you can shoot Siena in depth in one day.
You need a lifetime for it...
I have a chat with the owner of Georgio and Amanda, two sausage dogs. As I call them... Georgio is more laid back, Amanda nearly strangles herself as she wants to jump out of her collier. Funny little dogs
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741330-L.jpg
Why O why do I only have one day here?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741429-L.jpg
Another possible route, I need to go through a narrow passage in the dark, and I am easily scared, so I RUN to be in the sunlight again...
One never knows if a medieval Siena local is still haunting strangers...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741459-L.jpg
A functional door, different locks, a cat or dog hole in the bottom part?
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741543-L.jpg
I enter another color neighborgood, this is green orange...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741591-L.jpg
I am at the back side of the Duomo. Time for coffee!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741646-L.jpg
Another reason to come back, to just see the inside of the Duomo. I choose to stay outside, so I missed a beautiful spot inside...
Next time!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741706-L.jpg
Italians practice la Dolce Vita in full, they know how to ceize the day... Carpe Diem all the time!
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741810-L.jpg
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741874-L.jpg
A small family
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109741952-L.jpg
Benetton, name in Italy... Known for its provocing advertising campaigns
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742014-L.jpg
Fashion is no idle word
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742053-L.jpg
The head is laughing with us silly mortals
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742089-L.jpg
I go to the meeting place as it is again time to go home, BEEEUHHHHH
and I see Michael reading his newspaper. You can see him from afar with his hat...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742133-L.jpg
Michael is a photographer, shot his career for Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and elle, there might be magazines that I forget here, he was a notorious fashion photographer in his career days. If only I could borrow his mind for a couple of weeks, so I can pick his brain...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742171-L.jpg
The Francesco church... attached to a theological college
With the little chapel next to it, a lamb on top
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742239-L.jpg
View towards the outer side of Siena
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742317-L.jpg
A speeding pinguin... I would have had two shots if that darn truck had not blocked my view...
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109742953-L.jpg
Again time to go home, to Il Pero, one last quick shot out of the car
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109743152-L.jpg
And by the time we get almost home, the moon is out
(to be continued)
http://photocat.smugmug.com/photos/109743211-L.jpg