Dear Art-loving friend,
In my previous post I showed you a few small dragons
in the charming town of Volterra, Italy.
On this eve of my favorite holiday, Halloween, I give you a few images
of the night. Unlike the vampire I often
pretend to be, I am not trying to charm you into the darker side of life, but
to enchant and share something of my world with you.
Volterra is an ancient Etruscan
town dating back to at least the 8th century BC. One can see Roman and Florentine architecture
here. Volterra is now listed in the
region of Pisa. My friends Art and
Virginia Wells and I had driven to Volterra by way of Pisa so that they could
take in a few of those famous white marble Pisan sights [one is, after all,
INCLINED to do so… can vampires make puns?].
I am including shots of the Roman amphitheater. While I did not have time
to go down into it during the day (not because I was asleep in my coffin, thank
you very much), it looks as if there was a mighty view of the valleys
surrounding the hilltop town. What an
amazing backdrop for any performance!
The giant human forms that are lit in strong white MAY be sculptures by
the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj. Sadly,
he joined the other realm recently in Paris.
Like many towns and cities in
Tuscany, Volterra has a Medici fortress (this family really got around!). Also, when most writers speak of the towns in
Italy (Firenze too), most of the time we are actually referring to the OLD TOWN
center… the part within the medieval wall, or her remains. Outside of this border, homes are often NOT made
out of stone and they look more like modern spaces.
Allora, Happy Halloween… I am off
to a bar to start off the evening, to meet a couple who invited me out. The other day I was in Zecchi’s famous art
supply store near the Duomo in Firenze and was talking to the owners Sandro and
his son Leo, long-time friends of mine.
I was mistaken for an employee and for that, I am happy that my Italian
speaking and knowledge of the shop can fool some people! Still, it is a fun way to meet people. But
now, I need to grab my cape and fly… I advice you to be careful of strangers…
they may be more strange than you dare imagine.
++++
If
you are enjoying this blog, the writing and/or the images, it would help me
continue if you could send a donation my way.
Just go to the blog online and there are PayPal links for making a
donation. Choose any amount you desire,
even five bucks helps!
Or further down the site on the right hand column, you will see a more indirect way to help: Go shopping online via the search window under “Support This Blog Via Amazon” Your author is an affiliate and clicking here first sends a donation with each purchase you make on a click-through.
A third way you may help is to forward this blog to
someone you think may appreciate it. The
more readers, the more comments online, and wallah… lovers of art and Italy
unite.
Thank
you for your interest and enthusiasm,
Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor,
painter, writer, teacher
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