Manarola, Liguria

Like a rainbow of painted plaster, the village of Manarola hangs onto the cliffs above the swirling seas of the Gulf of La Spezia on the coast of Liguria – the home of fine wines and a one-time haunt of Byron’s. The Gulf of La Spezia is also known as the Poet’s Gulf – and […]

St Mark’s Basilica

st mark's basillica

The smuggling of the mortal remains of St Mark to Venice from Alexandria in 828 satisfied a Divine Will – according to the Venetian version of the story, anyway… When, in the 4th Century AD, St Mark the Evangelist allegedly visited the then uninhabited lagoon, an angel appeared unto him saying: “Pax tibi Marce, Evangelistameus!” […]

Capuchin Monks of Palermo

monks of palermo

In 1599, the Capuchin monks of Palermo made a macabre discovery: some of the corpses they had entombed in their catacombs had become naturally mummified. Then the monks decided to preserve one of their own… When the Capuchin monks of Palermo mummified Brother Silvestro of Gubbio they started a trend. From 1599 to 1880, when […]

Gondolas on the Grand Canal, Venice

Gondolas on the Grand Canal by Sian Jones “This was taken from Rialto bridge, it shows the variety of boats using the Grand Canal, as well as  the elaborate buildings. My partner and I were there in May, we had been to explore the wonderful Rialto markets. It looks like the gondolas are going to […]

The Colosseum

colosseum

Almost 2,000 years ago, Emperor Vespasiano built the Colosseo in Rome – a giant oval stadium capable of hosting over 50,000 spectators that still stands today. No other monument says ‘Rome’ quite as much as this: the Colosseum, situated towards the south of the central area of the Eternal City (in the grounds of Nero’s […]

Mount Etna, Sicily

mount etna

A steady plume of smoke and ash continues to spew from Mount Etna- Europe’s highest active volcano. But can we expect another major eruption? Although it’s the tallest volcanco in Europe, it’s pretty difficult to say just how high Mount Etna actually is. With each eruption its height changes – and it erupts often. Currently […]

Chair and Flowers, Bevegna

bevagna

Chair and Flowers, Bevegna by Peter Colligan “Whilst strolling round Bevagna, one of our favourite towns in Umbria, we came across this delightful little scene by the Roman Amphitheatre. The warm colours are simply delightful.”

The Saltpans of Trapani

Among the most striking views in Sicily are the glittering saltpans between Trapani and Marsala. Dating way, way back to the time of the Phoenicians (who were sailing the Mediterranean from 1200BC), the saltpans on the western coast of Sicily are still active today, desalinating vast quantities of sea water and shipping the recovered salt […]

Lake Bolsena Fog

Lake Fog by Cathy Powell “We were living on Lake Bolsena at the time and my children had just caught the school bus. As I often did, I headed into town to do some shopping, luckily armed with my camera. It was late November when I took this photo and just after 8am. The lakeside […]