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The Results Are In: Part 18

The 13th International Color Awards results have been made known, and that is the subject of today’s article.

The International Color Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in color photography. Awards were announced during the spring of 2020. In a field of over 7,000 entries from 79 countries, I am honored to have had a few of my photos recognized.

Four photos were Nominated (a limited number of photos selected for further consideration by the distinguished industry judges). And, two from that category made the Honorable Mention list. No out-and-out winners…but close!

You will note when looking at the photos below that they are not in any way related to Italy. Specifically, they are all related to my home state of Colorado…and more specifically to autumn in the Rockies…and then, even more specifically to autumn in the Rockies in the Ouray-Telluride area of southwest Colorado.

A bit of departure from photos of Italy, but I hope you enjoy them.

Honorable Mention

Long Abandoned —- Americana Category — ***Long Abandoned*** —- Americana Category

Zig Zag — Nature Category — ***Zig Zag*** — Nature Category

Nominated

Good Times in the Rockies — Wildlife Category — ***Good Times in the Rockies*** — Wildlife Category

Climate Change — Nature Category — ***Climate Change*** — Nature Category

Other Entries

Gone to Lower Pastures — Nature Category — ***Gone to Lower Pastures*** — Nature Category

Blue and Gold — Nature Category — ***Blue and Gold*** — Nature Category

On Golden Pond — Nature Category — ***On Golden Pond*** — Nature Category

Thanks for taking a look at a few of my non-Italy photos. We’ll be back to Italy next week.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Venice's Frari

Index of Articles

What is a Frari, anyway? It’s strange that few of those who have been there and know what The Frari is, know of its true name. You will now be among those in the know.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called The Frari, is a church located in a campo in the San Polo district of Venice. It’s big. It’s old. It’s made of brick. And, it’s not very beautiful on the outside (it is of Franciscan lineage, after all)…but on the inside it’s magnificently ornamented.

How old is it? We know that in fourteen-hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…and that is the same year that the Frari was completed…after about a century of work.

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari…aka The Frari

The church is dedicated to the assumption of Mary. A bit more on that later will explain why.

There are a good number of famous old dead people in the Frari. The interior is notable for many wall monuments to distinguished Venetians buried in the church, including a number of Doges (like a president of Venice) and the painter Titian.

Canova

Immediately upon entering the church, one such distinguished Venetian is Canova. He was famous for his marble sculptures. Thus, his burial chamber is a very large marble mausoleum of sorts. For a sense of scale, the doorway into the monument is lifesize.

Nice huh? But, a bit much, don’t you think? He probably gets more square footage than any other of the Venetian characters. And to think, only his heart is buried there! But then again, look at the detail in these hand-carved embellishments.

Not all is funeral in the Frari. These guys have been doing daily, back-breaking duty holding up that plinth for centuries. But, they seem to keep in good spirits.

A Recent Award Winning Photo

Here is a photo that was recently published in Black & White Magazine as a winner in the “2024 Single Image Contest” on page 92. This photo was taken in October, 2023.

God Rays at the Frari, Venice, Veneto, Italy, 2023

Lion of Saint Mark

Whilst in Venice, you are never far from the winged lion, which is the symbol for Gospel-author Mark. Most of Mark is buried in the Bascilica of Saint Mark, on none other than Piazza San Marco. More on Mark’s significance to Venetians at another time.

Choir Stalls

Dead center in the Frari are the choir stalls and organ of the church. The choir stalls are a magnificent bit of woodwork by Marco Cozzi. The wood carvings and marquetry of each of the stalls are exemplary.

Take a moment to contemplate the work that went into the forty-or-so stalls, as shown in the photos below. Again, there were no modern woodworking tools available to the craftsmen.

Titian’s Masterworks

Titian was an awesome Venetian artist. Though ‘Titian’ to you and me, his given name was ‘Tiziano Vecelli’. He was prolific in the early-16th century.

The Assumption of the Virgin is the centerpiece of the Frari. The ‘Assumption’ was the bodily taking up of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. Titian did his ethereal best in this depiction.

The setting for Titian’s masterpiece is dramatic, as seen in this photo.

Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin in the Frari — Titian’s *Assumption of the Virgin* in the Frari

In this detailed photo, you can see God welcoming Mary into the Heavenly realm, with assistance from cherubs and with an adoring crowd looking on.

Also by Titian, we find the Pesaro Madonna (aka Madonna di Ca' Pesaro). The painting was commissioned by Jacopo Pesaro, who was the Bishop of Cyprus, as well as the commander of the Papal fleet.

Frari_(Venice)_nave_left_-_Altar_of_Madona_di_Ca'Pesaro.jpg

Here’s the deal with commissioned paintings of that time: the artist was obligated to work the patron into the art work.

In this particular painting, Titian shows patron Jacopo kneeling to the left in a devotional pose. Saint Peter in blue is presenting Jacopo to Mary and the baby Jesus…note Peter’s ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ lying on the steps, tethered to Saint Peter.

Where does one find a divine face for the Virgin Mary? Titian actually used his wife as the model in this painting.

The five people kneeling at the bottom right below saint Francis of Assisi? Those are the Pesaro family members.

Giovanni Bellini’s Triptych

I have to say that Bellini is one of my favorite Italian artists. Besides his prosecco and peach bar-tending prowess, I just love the fine detail of his works. Below you see one of his finest, painted in 1488. This is Madonna and Child with Ss. Nicholas of Bari, Peter, Mark and Benedict, which is located in the Sacristy.

It’s a shame that the two angels did not get billing, too. They are very energetically playing their little hearts out on a mandolin and a flute.

Note the three-dimensionality of the figures in the painting. And the detail…one can almost read the Bible passage that Saint Benedict is holding. The alcove in which Mary and the baby Jesus are standing…it is actually a flat panel and not curved at all.

Bartolommeo Vivarini

Bartolommeo was also quite adept at the triptych, as we can see from two of his paintings that are housed within the Frari. Done in his unique colorful style, here is Madonna and Child with Saints.

And below is another of his colorful Frari paintings titled, ‘Saint Mark Enthroned’. I think you would agree that that’s a pretty fancy frame.

Frari_(Venice)_Cappella_Corner_-_Pala_di_San_Marco_by_Bartolomeo_Vivarini.jpg

A Golden Angel

I have no idea who fashioned this golden angel hanging from the ceiling of the Sacristy, but we liked it so much that we used it as our Christmas card photo several years ago.

Unknown

I have no idea who produced this set of marble carvings, but I like it/them.

Craig on the Steps of the Frari

Yes, that’s brother-in-law Craig once again. This time striking a pose under Barolomeo Bon’s ‘Virgin and St Francis’, which adorns one of the secondary entrances to the Frari.

Now you’ve visited the Frari…and you know the actual full name for this church. The photos are nice, but they just don’t do justice to the works of art that you’ll find inside this Venetian church. The best way to experience the Frari is to be there in person. Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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102 Blog Articles...But Who's Counting?

Index of Articles

That’s right…102! I had no idea that I had put out over 100 blog articles until I counted them this week. I’ve really been a bit chatty, haven’t I?!

I have enjoyed every minute in the production of these articles, mostly about my favorite place — Italy. ‘Why do you do this?’, you ask. Because I want you to be stimulated through my writing and photos to visit Italy yourself. And, as an added benefit, I get to travel voyeuristically along the way as I write and go through photos from great times gone by.

“I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way”

Italy is a place with beautiful scenery highlighted by mountains, plains, coastlines and lakes…a prolific history of art and culture (I know that you’ve heard of Michelangelo and the Roman Empire)…vineyards and their wineries producing the world’s best wines, like Brunello…authentic (it has to be, right?) Italian food…and a loving, smiling, happy people.

Today, I thought I would give you of my ‘Top 10’ articles. I’ve categorized them into ‘Visiting a Particular Place’, ‘Experiences We’ve Enjoyed’ {that you would, too), and ‘Helpful Travel Tips”. These are my favorites because of memories of the times and places involved, be they humorous, joy-filled, frustrating, or whatever — or because I felt that they were particularly informative in preparation for your own upcoming Italy trip.

If one of the descriptions catches your eye, go ahead and link to the article so that you can enjoy a small slice of Italy, too.

[OK, I have a confession to make. There are actually 12 articles listed below…I just couldn’t pare it down to 10…sorry about that]

Each listing below has a clickable bolded heading that takes you to the original article.

Visiting A Particular Place

Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi

A beautiful Tuscan day at the Banfi pool

This article lays out for you the full Banfi experience that you will just have to live through yourself one day. We’ve visited the Castello Banfi twice and found the experience to be absolutely wonderful. The tour of the Banfi winery is outstanding. And then there is the Castello Banfi itself…a must see, as well as a must stay. Dining? Yes, you have your choice of the informal La Taverna, as well as the fabulous La Sala dei Grappoli. The enoteca where you can taste and then purchase wine? The largest and most beautiful we’ve seen — and we’ve seen many. Published on May 24, 2016.

A Visit to Villa Cimbrone

The view along the walk from Ravello to Villa Cimbrone

If you will be visiting the Amalfi coast, with its breathtaking mountainous backdrop, you absolutely need to journey up those mountains to the the town of Ravello. It sits high above the town of Amalfi and has spectacular views from the Belvedere. The gardens are charming and there are several restaurants between the town and the Cimbrone Gardens from which to choose, like our selection, Il Flauto di Pan. Published June 7, 2016.

Renato Ratti Winery

Talk about a fabulous and unique winery and visit thereto! This Piemonte winery has been environmentally inserted into the side of the hill upon which the town of La Mora sits. Gravity provides an energy-saving way to transport the developing wine from vinification to storage. The grape of this Piemonte winery is the Nebbiolo and their top wine is Barolo, of course. Our tasting was of vintage Barolo wines going as far back as 1998, which gave us a personal and up-close education on a wine’s tannin, fruit and color over time. Published September 17, 2019.

Stay Here: Borgo San Felice

There is a beautiful place to stay and eat in the heart of Tuscany, and it is the Borgo San Felice. A friend had stayed here and highly recommended it…we are glad he did! The owners basically purchased a small Tuscan town and converted it into a marvelous resort hotel experience. From the ancient chapel to the modern swimming pool, we enjoyed it all during our two visits there. And the food of their Ristorante Poggio Rosso was delicious, whether at breakfast or dinner. Published January 12, 2016.

Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent

Just what was it that we stumbled upon? It was a church sitting high on a hillside overlooking Lago Lugano, just west of Lago di Como. Oh how dumbstruck we were when we opened the doors of the church of Albogasio Inferiore in the small, lakeside town of Albogasio-oria. They say that one can’t judge a book by its cover, and that goes too for churches. The inside has beautifully painted fresco walls and ceilings, as well as other gorgeous ornamentation. Published July 28, 2015.

Experiences We’ve Enjoyed

One Fine Day

The setting is the Amalfi Coast. The conveyance was a 38’ Itama boat, captained by a friendly Gian-Carlo. The day was wonderful. This is the quintessential way to see the Amalfi Coast — by boat. We cruised in luxury with prosecco in hand. We swam the White and Green Grottos. We dined waterside on the Isle of Capri. And every bit of this day was perfect. Published September 29, 2015.

Enjoying Italy-Bought Wine

It’s strange how certain things can trigger memories of the past. We had that experience one lazy day…and those memories were certainly fond ones. What was it that triggered these great memories? It was wine, of all things. It was a wine that we had tasted at lunch in Radda in Chianti and one that we subsequently purchased at a winery in Tuscany. The setting for this article is our living room…in front of a roaring fire…with good book in one hand and a good wine in the other. Published February 2, 2017.

Wild Goose Chase

I’ve chased a wild goose or two, and I’m sure that you have, too. This incident relates to the day we bought a nice wine, as discussed in the article just above. We were on our way to a highly praised dinner…as praised on Trip Advisor. What we found when we arrived at the very small hilltown of Poggio alla Croce was an unexpected mystery. We had a reservation that I had managed to pull off in Italian…at least I thought I had. Find out what happened and how our evening managed to end. Published February 2, 2016.

Your Romantic Gondola Ride

If you’ve been to Venice and you haven’t ridden in a gondola, then you haven’t really been to Venice. The ubiquitous gondola is the iconic symbol of Venice. Your gondola experience should be a romantic one. This means that there is a certain time for your ride…a time that is best for reasons more than just romance. And, as each time has its place, I give you a suggestion on the best place to start (and end) your ride. Published July 12, 2016.

Helpful Travel Tips

Getting There: Bellagio

Bellagio is undoubtedly the most charming town we have visited, and its important how you get there! It sits on the end of a peninsula on Lake Como. You can auto there, but the road is twisty-turny and you may arrive with a bit of fuzzy brain. You can arrive by train…kind of…at least you will be close, but will require a ferry ride from Varenna. And you can arrive by boat…but not just any boat. You definitely don’t want the hydrofoil. What you want is the slow boat from the town of Como. It’s a slow ride and it is absolutely beautiful. Published August 2, 2016.

Another Way Into Italy

Of course you can fly directly to Italy, but there is a way that you might find to be a lot more fun…and relaxing. Why not start your Italy adventure in Switzerland?! You start in Zurich and take one of three trains into Italy. That has been our favorite way because it is a fabulous way to overcome your jet lag…as well as seeing the beautiful Swiss countryside. Published July 30, 2019.

Please, Thank You, and Where's the Bathroom

Don't let the fear of not knowing the Italian language keep you from Italy. Our experience has shown that for most of the places that we go (i.e. not too far off the beaten path), English is well spoken. I do recommend the joy of giving Italian a try, as it’s kind of fun to order a light breakfast by saying, “Pane tostata con burro e marmellata di arance”. But for sure, don’t let the lack of parlando Italiano keep you from Italy. Published August 14, 2016.

Now you know what I know — that being that the above are my favorite article posts. Trust me when I say that it was super difficult to pare them down to those twelve.

I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way. If a trip to Italy is in your future…and I certainly hope it is…then the article ‘A Trip to Italy in Your Future? Read On!’ is a guide to using the Index of Articles to help you plan for your trip.

And, I really would love to see you there in beautiful Italy! But, in the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: De Pisis

Index of Articles

Are you hungry right now? If you’re like me (and I certainly know I am), then you think about your next meal right after you finish the previous one.

A meal at today’s subject eatery is highly recommended…though you will need to travel to Venice to enjoy it…carry out or delivery just won’t work in this case.

De PIsis is located in the Hotel Bauer. This hotel is one of the up-scale hotels in Venice…a hotel for which we would not normally make a reservation. However, in 2004 we spent a January week in Venice and the Bauer’s rates were such that it was affordable. And yes, it was very nice, indeed. I’ll let you know more about a winter visit at another time.

We’ve dined at De Pisis for both lunch and dinner, and both were wonderful. But, our routine now is to arrive in Venice mid-morning, drop our bags at the Hotel Flora, and then immediately make our way a couple-of-hundred yards to the canal-side terrace of De Pisis, under the red canal-side awnings you see in the aerial photo.

It is such a lovely terrace, situated just where the Canale Grande (Grand Canal) enters the Bacino San Marco (St Mark’s Basin), with a view of the church of Santa Maria Della Salute in one direction and San Giorgio Maggiore in the other.

Today’s article will be short on verbiage and long on photos of the food and revelry of some of our visits. So, here goes.

A Toast to You and Yours!

As we always start our meals with a toast to friends both present and absent, that’s what we do here. Note the beautiful Santa Maria Della Salute in the background. This toast is with Debbie and Scott Kennedy. It is a rare event that Scott eschews wine for a beer…but it was a long, hard journey.

Another time and another toast with in-laws Leslie and Craig Johnson.

The particular toast above is made with Venica’s Ronco delle Cime, which is produced in the northern realm of the Veneto. The Veneto is the region in which Venice is located.

I love the way that Italian wine websites describe their wine ethic. Venica’s states that, “This wine wants to tell the story of a borderland with people and memories related to family’s values and to the region’s traditions.”

After our tasting, we understood the story.

And though we don’t always travel with friends, wife Ellen and I never fail to execute a toast to you.

Though we are pre-meal toasting here, we drank our prosecco throughout our meal.

And which prosecco did we demolish during this meal?

Banfi’s, of course! How does it taste? Let’s check their website. for a description. Oh here it is, “…an edgy, fresh peach and peppercorn-scented sparkler. It’s bright with the greenness of chlorophyll and a peppery burst in the end.” Hmm…bottom line…we like it!

And is that ‘B’ for Bauer, for ‘Banfi’, or for ‘Burkett’? We’ll never tell.

The Meals

Adam has come to tell us that our meal will be arriving “in un momento”.

In the background you can see the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, located on the Giudecca island.

And the meals are here! We’ll start with a salad and move on to the other savory dishes.

The Fish Course

And, let’s not forget a fish course…after all, we are sitting in the middle of a lagoon!

Dealing with a whole fish can be a formidable experience, right? Not so in Italy.

The typical routine is to present the cooked whole fish for your viewing pleasure, and then the fish is disassembled and de-boned tableside.

I don’t have a fish presentation photo from De Pisis, so I’ll use one where Elizabete makes the presentation at La Terrazza Danieli on the Hotel Danieli’s rooftop restaurant.

Our De Pisis waiter is carefully de-boning our fish selection.

And here is our plated fish dish, ready to be placed before us for our eating pleasure.

It’s Over

All good things come to an end…though I’m not too happy about it during this visit to De Pisis. Even the wait-staff seem to commiserate with my end-of-meal blues. The parsley? I’m just NOT going to eat that parsley.

We don’t always finish a meal with wine…sometimes we need a refreshing Coca Cola Lite, or Coke Zero. Ahhhh!

You will see Ellen and me traveling through Italy with friends in many of these articles. I wrote an article on ‘Traveling with Friends’ back in 2015. In that article, I included a short video giving you a whirlwind 3:28 glimpse into a 2012 trip to Italy. Here is that video, should you have missed it.

I hope you enjoyed your voyeuristic meal today at De Pisis as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you. And don’t forget…no carryout or delivery…you have to go in person. How about you join us the next time we’re there? Is it a date? But if your there on your own, be sure and make a reservation for the lunch-time terrace at the bottom of their web-page, here.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Stay Here: Villa Giona

Index of Articles

Oh, what a lovely place to relax…so peaceful, as it is away from the hustle and bustle of a big city, like nearby Verona.

Villa Giona — our room is within the red box

“...the eighteen rooms of the sixteenth-century Villa welcome you with their comfort and their quiet, so as to discover in an original and exclusive way the sense of relaxation and the dimension of pleasantness”

I can’t say it any better than what is touted on their website in this pull-quote. That ‘dimension of pleasantness’ can be measured only in one’s mind…there is no yard-stick for this sort of thing.

Its history? Villa Giona was originally constructed in the square, fortress style in the late 1400s. During the Renaisence it was “opened up” into its present U-shape. Gardens, complete with statues and fountains, were added in the 1600s.

Where is Villa Giona?

Villa Giona is only 7 miles north of Verona’s historic center. In this aerial photo, you can see Villa Giona dead center, surrounded by vineyards. To the left (west) is their associated winery of Tenute SalvaTerra. We toured the winery under the direction of Silvia, who showed us how their Valpolicella and Amarone are produced.

See that blue rectangle in the bottom-left quadrant of the photo? More on that later.

This photo of the very small town of Castelrotto was taken from Villa Giona’s parking lot.

And this view from Castelrotto’s Osteria Castrum reveals the tree-laden Villa Giona compound just to the right of center.

Villa Giona is within the treed compound to the right of center

The Villa’s Rooms

There are 18 rooms in the Villa, and each is uniquely decorated. This trip was taken with in-laws Leslie and Craig Johnson, so we had two rooms at the Villa.

Our room is the one with the red square that you can see in the first photo above. It is known as “Il Pisanello”, and can be seen in the panorama, below. Nice digs, heh?

Panoramic view of our room, Il Pisanello

In these photos, you look from our room to our private balcony, and from our balcony to our private room.

Each room features a colorful Murano Island, hand-blown chandelier, like the one below.

Just a Bit of High-brow Culture

These two adorn the balustrade of our patio. One of the two seems to be trying to seductively entice the other to give up something precious…though one can never be sure with Renaissance art.

From these detail photos, one seems to be a plumber, perhaps?

Just outside the door to our room, there are a few etchings. I’ve never actually been attracted to etchings, but because I was able to get up close and personal, this one caught my eye. The detail that one sees from afar is created by judiciously-carved/etched lines.

Here is the overall etching…

…and here is a bit of detail of the chariot-riding heroine. I have to say that this art form, which consists of scratching lines into a metal plate, looks like a lot of work, folks.

And thus ends the cultural part of this article!

Around the Villa

Below is the east wing of the Villa, which houses a library and a lounge.

I have to admit that we did no reading of these fine books, as we were too busy seeing the surrounding sights. Ok, I admit that they were in Italian and we couldn’t have read them, anyway.

When its time for breakfast, this quiet place is perfect.

On one wall we find a fresco, which seems to be the angel appearing to Mary.

A 1/6400th-of-a-second shutter speed reveals the inverted Villa beyond the water glopps.

There is even a nice veranda on the second floor where we found time to play a bit of Sequence…one of our favorite games. Here Craig studies the board for his first move.

A bit of rain caused us to don our jackets prior to our dinner excursion.

Around the Villa

Here are a few photos of the grounds surrounding the Villa Giona.

Please click on an image for a larger view

If you need to take a dip in a pool during the heat of the summer, Villa Giona has one awaiting you!

The Vineyards of SalvaTerra

Bother-in-Law Craig inspects the SalvaTerra vineyards

As we were at the Villa Giona during the grape harvest, we were able to see some of the machinery that is used to pluck the grapes from SalvaTerra’s vines.

Here is a closer look at the machine that straddles the vines. Gathering from two rows at one time, this machine can be used only with the guyot pruning method. Frankly, even seeing the insides of this contraption, I have no idea how it plucks the grapes from the vine…but I swear that it does!

It’s After 5-o’clock!!!

Before heading to dinner (our second meal at Enoteca della Valpolicella), we were offered a bottle of SalvaTerra’s Valpolicella wine. Offered-and-accepted is exactly how we operate.

My intention was to convince you that Villa Giona is a quiet and lovely place to spend a couple of days if you are in the Verona area. Coupled with the outstanding wine, excellent food and friendly eateries in the area, you can’t go wrong.

And if offered a bottle of SalvaTerra’s Valpolicella, I would suggest that you accept!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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