Another rain photo, this time in the evening. I’m amused by the man in the dress trench coat and sneakers sheltering under the gelateria awning.
Gelateria, Twilight, In The Rain, Florence
Tag Archives: Kodak Tri-X
Figure, Neptune Fountain, Piazza della Signoria, Florence
Sometimes I think photographers are allergic to rain – as soon as two drops come out of the sky they hide their cameras and run for cover. But there are many beautiful images to be made in foul weather.
There’s something special and different, and even a tad ironic, about photographing a fountain in the rain. The statues are wet but in a very different way than they look from the normal spray of the fountain. And I think that doing it in black and white adds something more to it- this wouldn’t be as successful an image if it were in color.
Around the Piazza Bocca Della Verita
In a previous post I mentioned the Temple of Hercules Victor and the Fountain of the Tritons on the Piazza Bocca Della Verita, and the associated temple and church of the Temple of Portuno and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Here they are.
The Temple of Portuno is more or less contemporary to, although somewhat newer than, the Temple of Hercules Victor. It survived into the Christian era and was re-purposed as a Christian church, to later fall into disuse. It has been stabilized and restoration work is ongoing.
The library of the Casa Dei Crescenzi sits immediately across the street from the Temple of Portuno. The structure in this shot is early medieval/Romanesque in design. I saw the girl sitting on the steps, waiting for the library to open, or perhaps waiting for a bus. From the camera’s perspective, the men around the corner appear to be looking at her and commenting, although in all probability it was me and my camera that piqued their interest, since from their position they would not have actually been able to see the girl.
This is the Romanesque bell-tower of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, one of the older Christian churches in Rome, home to the Bocca Della Verita which now resides on the front porch, the easier to access for tourists. Saint Valentine’s relics also are kept here. I thought it was particularly striking with the sunlight just cresting the roof of the church and backlighting the tower. Contrast this with my earlier shot of the Campanile in Florence.
I’m particularly pleased at how well my camera handled the backlighting without flare or loss of resolution. It did a remarkable job for a 60-year old lens. And maybe it’s also a sign that I’m becoming a better photographer such that I composed it to minimize problems.
Here a Photographer, There a Photographer…
These are two of the wedding photographers I saw in action on my trip – I saw at least two more that I didn’t capture. All were Chinese – I guess it’s a thing now for Chinese couples to come to famous landmarks ( I saw this in Paris as well when I was there ) to get their wedding photos done. I don’t know if they were actually having their weddings in Rome and Florence, or just getting their pictures taken. I’d have loved to have asked, but the photographers were busy working and I’m not going to interrupt them.
I’m not at all surprised by the first location- the steps of Santa Maria in Aracoeli are a very popular destination spot for wedding couples. They were lucky that it was a quiet day – in peak season the steps are very popular with tourists, including pilgrims climbing them on their knees hoping for divine intercession to heal illness or get pregnant, although not so much these days. There are 124 steps (122 if you start on the right-hand side).
In Florence, this was the scene on the Ponte Vecchio, next to the Cellini monument. I know photographers will go to some lengths to get the shot, but this is really taking it to another level. I also observed a much more conventional photo-taking outside the Duomo early in the morning on another day.
The Temple of Hercules, Rome
Here is the Temple of Hercules Victor. When built, this would have been on the banks of the Tiber, or at least had a clear view of the river. The level of the city has risen some 17 feet since Roman days, so this now sits downhill from the Lungotevere (the street that runs along the riverbank). The tile roof is a much later reconstruction. This temple is the oldest surviving marble building in Rome, dating to approximately the 2nd century BC.
In the plaza in front of it there sits the Fountain of the Tritons, completed in 1715 as part of a renovation project for the plaza in front of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the medieval basilica that houses the famous “Bocca della Verita” and the skull of St. Valentine.
The Temple of Hercules Victor and the neighboring Temple of Portunus (not visible in this view) were converted into Christian churches in the early post-Pagan era, thus their relative high degree of preservation. Neither are active churches now. While the Temple of Hercules Victor today is solid and stable, work is ongoing on the Temple of Portunus and both remain closed to visitors. The closures may also represent a side effect of the budget woes currently besetting Italy.
Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti in Black and White
The stairs from the Palazzo Pitti courtyard to the Boboli Gardens pass through this upswept curving space, creating a rather dramatic view of the sky:
This is the Medici residence wing of the Palazzo Pitti, where the Grand Duke and Duchess had their suites, and Napoleon’s bathtub can be found.
This is a view from the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti out the main entrance. The bell tower in the distance belongs to Santo Spirito, a church with an ornate interior designed by Brunelleschi, the man who created the dome of the Duomo.
A wrought-iron gate in the Boboli Gardens.
This fountainhead is found in the courtyard to the Palazzo Pitti. And no, Ayn Rand had nothing to do with it.
As you’re probably aware if you read this blog with any frequency, I’m fascinated by ordinary objects that we tend to ignore. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture a Renaissance storm drain cover and inlet in the Boboli Gardens, along one of the gravel paths ascending from the amphitheater to the Neptune fountain.
And finally a view of the Duomo from the Boboli Gardens. You don’t really realize how big the cathedral dome is and how much it dominates the landscape in and around Florence until you stand on the hill a good mile away and realize that it’s the biggest thing between you and the mountains some fifteen or more miles beyond.
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
It’s so easy to be overwhelmed by St. Peter’s – the space is so vast, even when full of tourists it doesn’t shrink down.
The baldacchino over the high altar at St. Peter’s is one of the more recognizable objects. Cast from bronze allegedly taken from the roof of the Pantheon, it was designed by Bernini (remember the staircase from earlier?) and marks not only the center of the crossing under the dome, but the grave of St. Peter. While one of its alleged functions is to provide a bit of human scale to the vast space of the basilica, it is so massive that it only compresses the space if there are no people around to provide comparison.
This view into the transept from the crossing with the people in the foreground I think really helps give you a sense of scale for the place.
This is a view of the entrance with its two clocks, as seen from the mid-nave.
On a separate but related note, it’s interesting how we refer to Rome and the Vatican interchangeably when we speak of the seat of the Catholic Church, when in fact they are two distinct entities. This was not always true, of course- especially during the Renaissance through the early 19th century, it was literal truth to say that Rome was the papal seat. Now, of course, the Vatican is in fact not only a separate city within the city of Rome, but in fact a separate nation, complete with its own passports. The Vatican is in fact the world’s smallest country.
Vintage Bus Shelter, Rome
This is where I went to catch a bus to go to the Vatican Museum on my first day in Rome. It’s a vintage bus shelter, hard to date, but I’d guess post-war, maybe as late as 1950s. What you can’t see in the picture is that in the middle of the structure is a news-stand. Today it’s not so bad, but I wouldn’t want to have had to work there even as recently as the 1980s when diesel exhaust was much heavier than it is now.
That’s actually a sense-memory I kind of miss – you knew you were in Europe when you smelled the diesel exhaust everywhere. That and certain kinds of tobacco. It’s still a noxious odor, but the emotional context of it is so positive. I suppose geologists feel that way when they smell sulphur or biologists with methane.
Confessionals, St. Peter’s Basilica
While exploring St. Peter’s basilica, I saw this amazing light falling on the confessional booths, which were in themselves magnificent pieces of furniture. Something about them feels a little ominous, though, don’t you think? Or perhaps a touch funerary.
Even though I’m not myself Catholic, I don’t know that I’d want to give confession in that confessional booth- it would feel a little bit too direct.
Fish, Mercato Centrale, Florence
There’s something about fish in the market that makes them look especially good in black and white, don’t you think? It’s funny that most of the fish we eat are shades of black and silver and white – there are really only a couple fish that are colorful that we eat (red snapper, bluefish, Yellow Mackerel), the rest are enjoyed as visual treats when snorkeling, diving or in an aquarium.
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