Looking south from Venice proper toward the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
In 2022, we were able to visit Venice during the “shoulder season” just before the onslaught of tourists in the summer’s main tourist season. Taking a late-day gondola ride was one of our best choices — scenic and quiet!
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm lens
15mm, ISO 500, f/9.0, 1/60 sec
Looking southwest from the rooftop terrace of the Galleria T Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice.
I took this shot just as “high season” was starting up, so this is a fairly low-traffic view of the canal.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens
32mm, f/9.0, ISO 200, 1/320 sec
Looking down on the Cinque Terre town of Vernazza on a stormy afternoon. The harbor would normally be full of small boats at this time of day, but they were all pulled out of the water due to dynamic sea conditions.
Earlier this year, we were able to spend a bit of time in Italy. Out of this, we had three days to rattle around in Cinque Terre — a group of 5 old fishing towns. They’re quite a photogenic group, although I’d vote for Vernazza as the prettiest. They’re all also connected by both a seaside hiking trail, and shuttle service on the local rail line — so you’ve got multiple options for getting around to see the sights, as a function of your schedule and exercise tolerance. I took this shot from the trail on the north side of town — not terribly far to go for a “postcard” view.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 lens
8mm, f/11, ISO 200, 1/200 sec
An impressive mosaic in the ruins of Herculaneum:
Most people are likely familiar with the ancient city of Pompeii that was buried by a series of eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius (near modern-day Naples, Italy) in 79 AD. Less commonly known is Herculaneum, another nearby city buried by the same eruptions.
The Temple of Poseidon (foreground) and Temple of Hera (background) in the too-seldom-visited site of Paestum, Italy.
Paestum is in Italy, and was once a Roman city, but it started out as the Greek colony of Poseidonia. The Temple of Poseidon (built around 460-450 BC) is the largest and best-preserved of Paestum’s temples. But in actually, nobody knows for sure which god / goddess it was originally dedicated to; given the city’s original name, it may well have been dedicated to the city’s namesake — but maybe not.