by Contributing Artist Dorothy Berry-Lound
Living in Central Italy, as a photographer I am constantly seduced by the wonderful towns and villages around me. My own village, Paciano, is a medieval walled village and so is the next larger town, Panicale, which is a bit higher up the mountain from me. A mere twenty minutes away is Citta Dell Pieve, another large walled town.
All of these towns are tourist magnets in season and one of the reasons is they are just so picturesque. What do these places all have in common? Well they have some inspirational Italian architecture including traditional doorways and arches!
Italian Ornate Doorways
I find myself besotted with Italian wooden doors for example. These old wooden doors sit in ornate doorways, often with marble and/or carved architrave. Often marble steps lead up to the entrance. The door furniture is always pleasing too. One of the things I particularly like is the traditional semi-circular window above the door. These are made of metalwork and some are glazed, some not. But they all serve a useful function of providing light into the room or hallway behind the front door. In many of these old Italian towns, people live in an apartment within an old building so that hallway may lead to an internal staircase or courtyard.
The other thing I like about the doorways is that often they are the only way people can express their green finger (or thumb depending on where you live!). These town houses often don’t have space for a garden so you will often find all manner of plants growing in pots outside the front door. Or even hanging on the wall outside.
I have many photos of these glorious wooden doors from all over Umbria and Tuscany and I put them together into a couple of collages. This one is entitled ‘Italian Ornate Wooden Doors Collage’ and it is available as a jigsaw puzzle from my RedBubble store (see link below).
Italian Arches And Archways
Another great traditional Italian architecture feature in these towns is the use of arches or archways. These are mainly practical in nature, perhaps to allow entry through a town wall or providing access to another road. In some cases, the arch over a road links two sides and there is a small room on top of it! But I love these archways as though immensely practical, they often reveal a surprise view when you peak down them. I am also a sucker for the light and shade effects that come from the deep shade of the cool area under an archway and the bright sunlight in the area beyond.
The archways are traditional build too, some have wooden beams that support the curve of the arch. Some are built of red brick, which is a popular building tool in the area, particularly around Citta Della Pieve.
I have a large number of arches and archways to select from for this particular collage entitled Italian Archways Collage. I went for a representative selection that represents my description above. This is also available as a jigsaw puzzle from my RedBubble store (see link below).
Italian Culture And Challenge In One
I think both of these jigsaw puzzles are interesting, reflecting Italian culture, pleasing to the eye but also a real challenge for the jigsaw puzzler! Choose from five sizes: 30 pieces, 110 pieces, 252 pieces, 500 pieces, or 1000 pieces. They come presented in a tin with the image of the puzzle printed on the lid.
Links:
Italian Ornate Wooden Doors Collage – https://www.redbubble.com/i/jigsaw-puzzle/Italian-Ornate-Wooden-Doors-Collage-by-ShannathShima/52999084.L4Q0T
Italian Archways Collage Jigsaw Puzzle – https://www.redbubble.com/i/jigsaw-puzzle/Italian-Archways-Collage-by-ShannathShima/53080702.L4Q0T
Find out more about Dorothy’s jigsaw puzzles and where you can purchase them: https://dorothyberryloundart.com/jigsaw-puzzles/
Click to learn more about the artist: Dorothy Berry-Lound.
