INVOKING A SIMPLER TIME
It seems that the new Pope, Pope Francis, is breaking from tradition in more ways than one. Another of the photos taken near our hotel in Rome features still another window with clerical garments used by priests, Cardinals, and perhaps the Pope himself. But we now are being shown a Pope who has chosen to be a leader that emphasizes simplicity. When given the opportunity for the ancient traditions of glorious adornment or the modest garb of the saint whose name he has chosen, clearly we are seeing a remarkable change at the Vatican.
I wondered, as I looked up St. Francis of Assisi, whether those visions and mystical events of the early Church would have any pertinence to the global behemoth of the Catholic Church of the Twenty-First Century. When I read this decription of a vision had by the young Francis and the voice that spoke, “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”( from Wikipedia), it suddenly seemed to me that perhaps this new Francis has decided to do just that as well.
While the magnificent finery, the art, architecture, and ritual have inspired awe for centuries of faithful (and unfaithful!), perhaps the simple devoutness of St. Francis will inspire a new global renewal.
VENICE~VIEW FROM THE CAMPANILE
The ancient tower in St. Mark’s Square has survived floods, fire, and earthquakes. But it still stands in the landmark square of Venice, the hub and destination of not only tourists from every country but as the center of this old city. From the top of the tower or Campanile can be seen a sweeping view of Venice, the old and the new. It is amazing that we visited just a short time before the great inundations, the historic “Aqua Alta” that made St. Mark’s Square more of a great pool than a pedestrian square.
The Campanile has stood guard over centuries of history. I can imagine the pageant of Venice before it became overrun with camera-toting tourists. Before monster cruise ships filled the horizon, dwarfing even the huge palazzos and churches. Before the gondolas and gondoliers took up the role of performers in what must be one of the world’s most charming amusement parks.
In spite of the hordes of people, the disappointing and horrendously expensive meals, this time, my third time in Venice, there was a bit of magic. And the “gods of weather” were very much smiling during this stay.
This view out onto the City shows that work is ongoing to maintain, repair, and alter the buildings. All equipment, all supplies, large and small, must be brought by water. I am humbled to think what skill and knowledge is required to keep an ancient city built on wood pilings not only upright but in good condition. Venice is surely a work in progress even now, one that seems an organic one tied to Nature in spite of Man’s efforts to tame it.
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE-GEOMETRY
I’M REPOSTING THIS FROM MY OTHER BLOG, WEBS AND THREADS. IT SEEMS, ON SECOND THOUGHT, TO MORE PROPERLY FIT IN WITH TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, THOUGH IT IS PART INDEED OF MY ART.
The challenge was to find “geometry” in photos by cropping the view, to remove from our usual context. I was glad to find a venue for my snaps at The Metropolitan Museum in New York.
If you’ve been there you might recognize this location~Looking up at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art~
- SKY GEOMETRY NEW YORK
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE-“Green” Aloft
WordPress trumps my plan to share these photos sometime in the future when I planned to post the very end of our Italian holiday.
But the challenge to show photos with the theme of “green” was too tempting.
Our flight home from Italy was from Rome, a very early morning flight that had us up at 3:30 a.m. and kept us in daylight for much of the journey home. We headed first to Frankfurt for our brief layover and then on to the transAtlantic flight to San Francisco.
I always prefer the window seat so that I can lean and sleep or in this case view the passing landscape below. The short flight to Germany took us over monochromatic snowy mountains in Italy. As dawn broke we neared Frankfurt and revealed a landscape of rivers, valleys and beautiful forests changing from the greens of summer to burnished golds of very late autumn.
We crossed forests of wind turbines as well which seem like iconic white sculptures dotting the earth far below. The fog hugging the clefts and valleys and rivers took me back in time to the first visit to Germany in 1979~for a Bavarian Christmas near Nuremberg. I was reminded that the last glorious days of green would soon be replaced with the days of winter.
But on this day, at more than 37,000 feet above the magical carpet of villages and rolling hills, I hoped to capture the swiftly-moving scene from my small aircraft window.
MINNOW AMONG THE BIG FISH~
Just a quick post to say thanks to all who have “Liked” my recent posts/photos.
My intention was to find the time to respond to all who were so kind to let me know that they liked my posted photos. What was I thinking? But I have looked at all of the blogs for everyone who “Liked” and I must say “Thanks Again”. Many, if not most of you are regular practitioners of the art of photography and are far more learned and experienced than I! I’m honored that you enjoyed my images. I am a total amateur with a camera. Hopefully I can make the most out of my limited resources technologically and perhaps push on to a better camera in the near future. The quality of the work I’ve seen on your blogs is inspiring indeed.
Here is one of my favorite views of magical Venezia~from the top of the Campanile in the square of San Marco. I love the time of day when shadows become long, whether here at the sea or in the desert of Namibia.
ITALY-MUCH LATER!
With little time these days for blogging, let me just send out a quick post on the trip to Italy~Venice, magical city, Florence, and of course, Rome. After decades since last visiting, lots has changed, with the old viewed from a new perspective indeed!
First stop~Venezia.
ARRIVING IN VENICE BY WATER BUS
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE-FOREIGN
I am late to this Challenge for the very good reason that I was traveling!
This photo records a spectacular moment in the vast and amazing country of Namibia. (I am so far behind on my travel blog that this is a reminder to share more of this unusual adventure.)
Sunset In Namibia
webs and threads travels 
