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! 

Picnic in Piazza Santa Croce - Florence, Italy

Today was one of those incredibly beautiful autumn days that feel a bit summery. At least while in the sun. Even though most buildings in Florence average only four or five stories tall, the streets are rather narrow, usually with one-way traffic only. Some places probably never see the sun. It can be difficult to photograph this city’s charms, and even more difficult to know how to dress if one plans to be out for more than two hours.

However, this afternoon was to be enjoyed and I invited my friend Lisa O’Neil over for a picnic. We packed a traditional Tuscan lunch and took downstairs with us a blanket, porcelain plates, real forks, food, and glasses of wine. And we spent the standard amount of time for Italians to relax and enjoy a meal – longer than most Americans would have. It was truly lovely. And the piazza (square) was full of life.

Shortly after we returned out picnic items to my home, we went out to the Coop – the most affordable grocery store around us. Lisa had not been before and I wanted to help her learn more about the city. The Coop is beyond the central historical center of Florence, just outside/east of the Porta Beccaria.

"Blue Madonna" - Painting

Hello again. I had such a good response painting my version of the "Blue Madonna" by Carlo Dolci on Via Calimala in Florence, Italy, last Wednesday. Some examples:
One Italian couple asked me why I was not painting on "tela" -- the Italian word for 'canvas'.
I received a possible commission to create a mural in a small town about 40 km from Firenze.
And one very lovely American girl from New York with big brown eyes (who looked a little like the actress Anne Hathaway) exclaimed that this was the most striking painting she had ever seen here -- and "I live right over there [she points] and I walk down this street everyday to see the art!"
Another man returned to my space around midnight to find me washing my artwork away. He shook his head and said, "I do not know how you can make it disappear. That [artwork] was brilliant!"

Brilliant? Perhaps not, but I appreciated his sentiment just the same. That said, I decided to start painting, now that I am more settled and have finished my application for 'rinnovo' of my 'permesso di soggiorno' -- renewing my 'permission to stay' permit. And why not create something more permanent in this striking blue? Here is a view of my little room above Piazza Santa Croce. You may see my work-in-progress on the right. While I was all gung-ho to get to
work, I realized that I had forgotten to buy some mineral spirits for oil painting -- cannot take THAT with one on the plane. (Oh - yes, my lagging piece of luggage was delivered to me at my friend Jay's apartment last Monday, so all is well on that end.)

Since it was about 1:30 p.m. when I realized I could not oil paint (and most shops in Italia are closed for a long and social lunch), I chose instead to do an under-painting in acrylic. This is what you see here. After 3:30 p.m., I was able to get back to the art supply store and buy some 'trementina' -- turpentine (spirits were not available). I will keep you posted, so stay tuned . . .