For as long as I can remember Italy has been on my Bucket List and now that I checked that off here is what I learned. Like I have said many times do your research before you go. Figure out what you want to see and then determine how long it will take to cover all the areas.
For me when I venture to a country for the first time I usually go for a shorter period and then go back for an extended stay if I liked the landscape.
We started the trip in Calgary and flew to Germany. A short ride from Germany landed us in Rome. This is where it all began.
Assisi Italy Umbria’s Rolling Hills
Our first location was Assisi. Assisi is a hill town in central Italy’s Umbria region. It was the birthplace of St. Francis (1181–1226), one of Italy’s patron saints. After taking a tour of the Basilica we ventured to the top of the hill to admire the view.
The photo above was from that viewpoint. I soon learned that the population of Italy is over 62,000,000 people and considering Canada is just over 37 million with a land area of 33 times there are not many landscapes without buildings. It is a crowded space for sure. My goal was to capture beautiful landscapes around the country during our 10-day trip.
Continuing on…
Florence, the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region, was next on our list. We visited some of the must-see places like the real Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture in the Accademia.
While walking around the cities on our trip I started noticing the old architecture and particularly focused on the windows and doors in the areas. So many stories behind each window or door kept me going to find more beautiful architecture to capture.
“TUSCANY ” Well here we go.
A place I have always wanted to see and photograph. I recall seeing many beautiful photos of that region and was one of the reasons we traveled to the country.
Now to complicate things I decided to take only one camera and a new one at that. I purchased a Canon M6 mirrorless with an 18-150 lens and a pocket full of filters. I bought it to lighten my gear load. It is a 24 mp camera with a lens that had good reviews and it was all I needed. A small tripod accompanied me on the trip.
Once we ventured out into the vineyards and orchards a most pleasant smile was on my face. Pinch me I am photographing Tuscany. Large multi-stitch photos were captured with the new gear.
Well, I have to say that little camera was solid and the files were of great quality. Ones that I would be able to enlarge almost any size.
So moving on, a couple of days later we were in Venice walking around the City and admiring the landscape/ seascape.
The buildings we see there today are up to 800 years old. Man, can they tell a story or two? You bet, and the texture of the old buildings was amazing to capture.
Armed with my small travel tripod and filters I was able to first hand put my twist on the Canals and buildings of that old beautiful City.
It was beautiful to see the Grand Canal however for me the smaller canals were stunning and told more of a story.
I learned that there are 150 canals in Venice and the city is connected by many little bridges. The layers of all the years on these buildings showed character.
From Venice, we headed back to Tuscany and ended up in a Medieval little town hi-up on the hillside.
As I stood in front of these ancient buildings I couldn’t help but wonder how many people stood in the same spot thousands of years before, the overwhelming feeling of awe came over me.
“Montepulciano is a Renaissance hill town and comune in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a 605-meter (1,985 ft) limestone ridge.” One of the most beautiful places in Italy and I highly recommend this town. The views of Tuscany and the very old buildings are a real gem.
We also made a short stop in Pisa and viewed the leaning tower. From Tuscany, we headed back to Rome where we spent our last 2 days. I continued to discover new architecture. All in all, I had an amazing trip. I had a tour guide on the venture and her knowledge of Italy was incredible. Nicole was a great asset.
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