MADRID ~ IMAGES PAINTED ON ROLL-DOWN METAL SECURITY GATES ALSO SELL ...

Last Christmas, during the week I spent in Madrid, I noticed that most of the small shops roll down their doors when they are closed, and many have custom paint jobs to advertise or make a statement of their own.

Those that don’t have artwork are severely abused by taggers, but what they consider good original art is usually left alone. 

Not all shop owners are so lucky...

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I could find no better image to wish you a Happy 2016 than the photo of a chiming clock, I took during my recent stay in Madrid.

The clock, like others in the city, was designed by Mingote  (1919-2012),  a cartoonist, writer and journalist.

Since 1993, 5 figures (Goya inspired) dance at the sound of the 18 bells. The figures represent the painter Goya, Carlos III (the King), the Duchess of Alba, Pedro Romero (the bullfighter) and the Manola (feminine symbol of Madrid). 

I was lucky... Twice a year - on December 24 and 31 at midnight - there are special sounds three times a day. By chance I passed by the building at noon. The sound was of traditional Christmas music.

Let's welcome the New Year with champagne...

ITALY ~ ROME - A FEAST FOR THE EYES #1

All roads lead to Rome

Let's start exploring Rome with a walk through a bit of the unknown city, the so-called Coppedé neighbourhood, You, like me, will simply be enthralled by the beautiful entrance to the magical area  with an arch and a chandelier. But,let's give a look at a very nice church - Chiesa di Santa Maria Addolorata - just before we pass the archway.
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Don't you think Coppedé seems to have been touched by a wizard's wand that changed the everyday into a sumptuous visual feast? Let's go to the centre of a square and see a gorgeous fountain with a ring of frogs sitting on the rim of a giant dish.

This neighbourhood was a bit of a surprise in Rome, and many of its buildings (pcture below) reminded me of the Art Nouveau walking tour that I did last year in Riga. If you have been to Riga, you may agree with me...

Let's continue walking and, in less than half an hour, we are at Villa Torlonia, the most recent of the villas belonging to Rome’s nobility. It still retains a particular fascination due to the originality of its English-style garden (one of the few examples in the city), and to the unexpectedly large number of buildings. The photo below pictures the House of the Owls.  

A park with something for everyone: history, flora, fauna, palm trees... 'palm trees???', may be you question.... Yes, no expense was spared in the early 1800s when the famous Rome architect Giuseppe Valadier designed the buildings and grounds for the super-rich Torlonia banking family. The today's public park was – from 1925 to 1943 – the residence of Benito Mussolini, who lived in the Noble House paying a symbolic rent of one ‘lira’ (Italian currency at that time) to the Torlonia family!!!

We have no time to see every corner of this treasure close to the city centre, which contains the beauties of art, architecture and nature combined. After lunch, we will pass by the Pia Gate, the Republic Square,  the Fountain of the Acqua Felice and its beautiful statue of Moses, the Aurelian Wall, the Pinciana Gate, and we will end the day by walking down the Via Veneto and see Bernini's Fountain of Bees. From now on, don't miss looking at the several holy aediculae (niches that in Roman architecture have had an important representation in the society) that we are going to pass by here and there.
For instance, the photo below pictures the gorgeous 'Madonnella' of the Fountain of Trevi that regretfully is currently out of service. We can only see some sites through plexiglass barriers. No water in the fountain, yet the crowds of tourists are quite large.

Rome is not a specially colourful city, like Mexico city, but the Romans love their flowers, and the shops that sell them brighten many street corners, not to mention the cars of vibrant colours we often see either running or parked.

Rome is incredible, you cannot remain indifferent when you stay there…

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~~ See you soon... in Rome, of course... the tour is to be continued...~~

ITALY #6 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA (THE END): LECCE AND OTRANTO CITIES

Today, the last leg of our discovery of Puglia, will include a visit to Lecce  that,  due to its prevailing Baroque architecture, is commonly nicknamed "The Florence of the South" and, after lunch, we will go to Otranto, the easternmost city in Italy. 
On our heading south, just one-minute stop to take a photo of.. 

Locorotondo city, now a historical centre, known for its circular structure, from which its name that means 'Round Place', derives.
We have a pretty long drive to reach Lecce. We'll start our city tour at the main square, the site of a Roman amphitheatre, half buried now below the modern city.

Lecce is completely unexpected and seems oddly out of place and the answer to it is the stone – a type of limestone that is soft enough to be worked easily with a chisel. This famed material allowed the builders of sixteenth century  to indulge themselves in their Baroque fantasies and so ornate is the masonry work that it is difficult to gauge where architecture ends and decoration begins...

After visiting the Cathedral (photo above), we are walking into the side streets of the Duomo Square and make our way to the Basilica di Santa Croce...

This is said to be the most beautiful church in the city and it may well have been... We can't go inside it. Visits are not allowed. The front is covered in scaffolding.

No problem, let's go ahead with our walk and look at so many fantasies all carved with great care. 

Shall we step into the atelier of an artisan of papier-mâché (a craft that is unique to Lecce) and watch him demonstrating his skill? 

Our discovery of Puglia ends with a visit to Otranto, whose story is best told in its amazing cathedral where the bones of 813 martyrs are displayed in a glass case behind the altar... Don't you find it a macabre reliquary? I do...

Perhaps you hadn't expected our discovery of Puglia to have had such a macabre end... it hasn't had it at all...if you give a look at the images of the slideshow you will see how different it has been... Rome, where we will arrive soon, is waiting for us...

I hope you have enjoyed the discovery of Puglia as much as I have... 
Can I expect you to follow me during my stay in Rome? I do hope so...

Thanks for the time spent with me and best wishes for a wonderful week...

~~ See you soon! ~~

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ITALY #5 - DISCOVERING PUGLIA ~CISTERNINO, OSTUNI, CASTEL DEL MONTE AND TRANI

When you are a solo traveller who doesn't like to bother strangers to take photos for you, you return back home with lots of photos of vistas, street scenes, monuments, animals but you are mysteriously missing from the bulk of them. Although I have never heard 'no I won't take your photo', I feel always reluctant to ask for it. Furthermore, nine times out of ten, the photo doesn't come up even remotely the way I had envisioned in my mind. It was the case of the photo above that was taken at a small town named Ostuni, a genuine example of Mediterranean architecture.

If you look at the map, you notice a distance longer than the usual. In fact, it relates to two days. Let me guide you firstly to Cisternino that boasts a small, utterly charming old town centre.

 

Ostuni is the second destination, famous for the dazzling effect of its whitewashed houses.

The old town is beautiful, as pristine white as any Greek island village. If you have been to a Greek island before, you will agree that the comparison makes sense. You will notice the concentric streets that wind around like a buckled corkscrew as we are climbing the steep slopes and stairs from top to bottom.

We can walk slowly as it will not be long before we have seen everything there is to see in Ostuni, excluding the Romanesque Cathedral that is closed on this day.

Let's leave the town and continue our driving along the road bordered by olive groves. We will stop at a perfectly octagonal castle perched atop a hill, which is now a UNESCO site. The interior is bare but it's worth walking outside.  Don't you like to breathe the peaceful and true rural scenery, a big contrast to the built-up areas along the nearby coast. 

Back to the coastal area, we are now at Trani, the sort of place to wander along lanes and admire harbour views. The one really important thing to see is the cathedral, which dominates the seashore from a spectacular position at the water's edge.

We are about to enjoy the last day of our discovery of Puglia. Meanwhile, I wish you a wonderful weekend...

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ITALY #3 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA ~ GROTTAGLIE (THE CITY OF THE CERAMICS) AND THE PIANELLE NATURAL RESERVE

I'm very fond of clay-related goods, therefore I could not miss a visit to Grottaglie that, since the Middle Age, has been known for the production of Italian pottery and especially for its functional ceramics: large jars, pitchers, urns and pots to carry or store water, wine, oil, vinegar and food supplies. 

Over the centuries, the ceramics have evolved and ornamental objects, like holy water fonts and Pumi (photo below), have been adding to the fame of Grottaglie pottery.

Different Pumi adorning the roof of a craftsman's atelier

Yes, the Pumi! I was very much intrigued by the rounded ceramic objects that adorned the balconies and the terraces of the houses. I noticed that they were invariably placed in pairs at both ends of every balcony, no matter if the house was old and shabby or newly restored, simply built or richly adorned.

I learned from a craftsman that a pumo was a popular symbol of good luck in Grottaglie and more in general in the region of Puglia. Every family celebration and important event was sanctified by the gift of a ceramic pumo, rigorously handmade. They were on sale in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. I brought home a small one that I placed in my living room as a decorative accent piece ... We all need good luck, don't we?

I was interested in walking in a wood. Before leaving Lisbon and when I was searching every detail about Puglia, I learned that there was a nature reserve not far from my 'headquarter'. So, one day I walked for several hours in it, always guided by a friendly dog that at the end seemed to be more tired than me.

The area was good to walk around, and the various trails were clearly marked, so there was no risk of being lost. For a while, I had the feel I was in Portugal as I saw a strawberry tree, the fruit of which we use to make a sort of brandy. Perhaps I was not on a lucky day... I had no idea where the birds were hidden, probably playing attending a summit meeting... I presume the end of Summer had brought the low season to the Reserve...

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