Bergamo Italy

Dear Art-loving friend,

Here are some more images of my short visit to Bergamo, Italia, recently.  I do not really vacation well, I suppose mostly because I take a long time to make a work of art and feel always behind and never seem to have enough time to realize all of the things I envision.

So, I give you a reminder that the art installation of the colored turf in the main piazza finishes at the end of this month.  That includes the life-size pink cutouts of various locals who garden or create in some way.  I thought that the cutouts and the write-ups on them of each person depicted were an eye-catching way to make the colorful installation more personal.

I try to notice the beauty and interest in all sorts of things and my eyes dart in all directions.  The world is full of stimuli, after all!  And thus, I hope you enjoy the images taken through a keyhole.  Hahha… I was told once in my early days in Firenze that in Italy, “An open door is an invitation.”   I am not sure that I believe that….to misquote Freud, “Sometimes an open door is just … an open door.”  Also, I am fascinated by stairs.  Go figure.

But there is some truth to the observations that most of the beautiful gardens in Italy are within the corridors of the buildings.  Back in Medieval times when many Italian cities were built, people lived in fear of attacks and thus, the walls are thick and strong; fortresses really.  And people brought the Natural world inside of their walls.  I never tire of the giant ceramic pots with trees, or in this case, grasses. 

Enjoy some more of Bergamo in northern Italy.

Bergamo Città Alta Italia Italy

Dear Art-loving friend,
Each time I meet an artist, I ask, “So where is the place for artists now?”  Every single time I heard, “Berlin.”  So, my friend Susan and I went up there recently to check it out.  I will write about that experience in a future post.  Today, I want to tell you about our visit to Bergamo, Italia, on the way home.  There is currently an outdoor installation of color and lots of flowering plants and trees in the “Città Alta”  (the upper city), in this case the original part of the city that oversees the lower sections and is still outlined by its ancient walls.

I was delighted to see so much color in Bergamo’s Piazza Vecchia, with the Italian version of “Astro Turf” covering most surfaces and creating above-ground colorful planters for all kinds of herbs and flowering plants.  My traveling companion said she got a headache from it … too much.  But I loved it and thought it fun.

Susan and I meandered on past the Fontana Contarini and through the piazza to see the Basilica and Duomo of Santa Maria Maggiore.  In front of this and to the right is the building with the round window called the Cappella Colleoni.  I love how they use the different soft colors of stone together in such elaborate and dimensional designs combined with sculpture.   The metal fence combining Nature and architecture make a lovely frame for the peach and grey stone building across Piazza Duomo.

I share this image of the nearby Torre Civica because I was amused by how the thin clouds appear to be escaping from the “chimney” tower.

I enjoyed this little taste of Bergamo and hope to get another opportunity to visit this small city again.  The art and garden installation you see here continues through 30 September.  Enjoy!