The Dolomites

The Lake of Carezza (called Karersee in German) is a crystal clear lake with beautiful colours at the foot of the Latemar, a mountain in the Dolomite range, in north east Italy and part of the Alps.

The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the spectacular landscape, and also because of the geological significance of the area.

Sassi di Matera

Down near the heel of southern Italy is an area which has had dwellings for about 9000 years.  In the old city of Matera, known as the Sassi di Matera, there are ancient houses carved into the rocks.  In some places, the roadways run along the roofs of the dwellings below.

At one time this was considered to be an area of considerable poverty because the houses weren't fit for habitation, and people who were living there had to relocate to other areas.  Since then it has been recognised as an area of cultural importance and added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, and now has a thriving tourist industry.

Arches and domes

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the centre of Milan is four storeys high, two arcades each with a glass vaulted roof.  Where the two arcades meet, they form an octagonal glass dome.  The Galleria took 12 years to build, from 1865 to 1877, but the card is more recent, probably 1915-1920.  Nowadays the shops sell luxury goods, plus some cafes and restaurants.  McDonalds had been one of the tenants for 20 years but the city of Milan refused to renew its tenancy in 2012.

While on the subject of arches and places to buy things, here is a card from Lugano in Switzerland, the Portici (arcades) di Via Pessina.  Again these date from the 19th century.  Nowadays the road is entirely pedestrianised and the shops sell mainly crafts, jewellery, and delicatessen foodstuffs.

This is a post for Sepia Saturday.  A click on the button will take you to the site.

Royal map of Italy

In my continued search for map postcards, I came across an unusual map of Italy with the faces of the last royal family superimposed on it.  The card itself isn't in very good condition but nevertheless interesting.  I've seen a similar one which has the lines"Avanti, Savoia! non anche Tutta désti la bandiera al vento", lines from a poem by Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), printed on it.  My attempts to translate these lines have not made any sense.

At the top is Victor Emmanuel II (Sua Maestà il Re) with the queen, Sua Maestà la Regina, born Elena of Montenegro.  Following down the shape of Italy, first is their only son Umberto who was to reign for one month from May 1946 until June the same year.  The May king.

Then we see his sisters, Iolanda, Mafalda (who died in Buchenwald concentration camp), Giovanna (who became Queen of Bulgaria) and finally Maria.

The cities/towns marked along the coast of what is now Croatia, are part of Istria which has been held by various countries.  In 1919 after World War I, it was given to Italy until in 1947 it was given to the then Yugoslavia until it broke up in 1991.

My grandfather came from Italy and though I never knew him, I always feel a particular interest in anything Italian.  This card has taught me a little Italian history - I hadn't known there was a royal family quite so recently.

Café culture

The Café de Paris in Monte Carlo is an elegant scene.  You may notice that the left hand side is a little blurry and that's because it is one of 8 postcards in a booklet.  I didn't want to take the booklet apart just to scan one postcard.

The Café de France is somewhat less elegant and I can't even tell you where it can be found (apart from in France).  I imagine a number of towns throughout France will boast a café very much like this one.

Finally and unrelated to the previous two, a card from Italy that I've shown previously but it does seem to fit well here. It shows men hanging around in the street, some have even brought along chairs.  They are in fact watching a football (soccer) match on a television set in a butcher's window.  According to the text on the reverse, they are watching the semi-final of the UEFA Championship when Italy was playing the Netherlands. (Italy won.)

A post for Sepia Saturday.  A click on the button will take you to the Sepia Saturday blog where you can find links to all the other people taking part.

The Vatican and Rome

It seems an appropriate time to show a postcard of Rome in Italy when all eyes of the Catholic church, and many others too, are turned in the direction of the Vatican waiting for the news of a new Pope.

The card is an aerial view of the city of Rome with St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican in the background on the left, and Castel Sant' Angelo of Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" fame (amongst other things :) ).

I have other cards of the same views:  the river Tiber and St Peters and Castel Sant'Angelo

Napoli

The street known as Spaccanapoli (literally "splitting Naples") is a street that divides the old historic centre of Naples roughly in half.  Strictly speaking it is two different streets each with its own name, but it is known popularly as Straccanapoli.  Tis card seems to capture the essence of Italy for me.

Temple of Concordia, Sicily

The Temple of Concordia, pictured above and dating from the 5th century, is in Sicily's Valle dei Templi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was part of a Greek colony, Agrigento, and in its time one of the leading Mediterranean cities.

The stamp shows a letter speeding on its way.  This one did arrive relatively quickly but I often find the Italian postal service is less than speedy.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

A typical Tuscan house

At one time everyone in the UK was wanting to live in Tuscany, in Italy.  There are significant numbers of British residents of the region.  It is the area around Florence - very beautiful with an immensely rich history.  And weather, wonderful weather.... sigh.... Food.... Wine....

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

If you click on the image you should be able to read the information given.  I find it remarkable that a postcard manufacturer in a country such as Italy can't find anyone who could correct at least some of this English.  I think they ran it through an online translator, they must have.

Assisi

A beautiful street in Assisi, Italy.

Sicily

On the reverse of a lovely map of Sicily, a stamp depicting on the left foreground, an Italian soldier and in the background, a detail of the globe. It has a very clear postmark from Catania on the east coast of Sicily.  Catania is at the foot of Mount Etna, the volcano.  You will need to click to enlarge to see the detail of the stamp, I think.

This was the nearest I could get to a map, although I have previously shown these Irish stamps which have an outline of Ireland.

And also these Irish stamps feature in a card, a map of Ireland in stamps.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes from Italy, from Sicily to be exact.  Quite inexpensive, and they look lovely.  We very rarely see them like that in the UK.  Ours tend to be uniformly shaped and uniformly tasteless.  I think at least some of these may be a variety called Fiorentino.  The postcard was sent to me from the Netherlands.

Football fans (soccer)

According to the details on the reverse of the card, this photo shows "Italia - Olanda" and was taken in 2000.  A little detective work was needed to discover that in that year Italy and the Netherlands played against each other in a UEFA European Football Championship semi final.  The shop, a macelleria, is a butcher.

The spectators will have been happy because Italy beat the Netherlands.  They will have been less happy four days later when France beat Italy in the finals.

I would never have thought I could take an interest in these things but I seem to have absorbed something after years of indoctrination by my personal adviser who is the Scottish equivalent of these spectators.

For the love of libraries

Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence, Italy

The student has his Rome, his Florence, his whole glowing Italy, within the four walls of hos library.  He has in his books the ruins of an antique world, and the glories of a modern one. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The library was first opened to the public in 1752, purpose built to accommodate the collection of Abbott Francesco.  The shelving in the Reading Room was built at the same time as the building and so dates from the mid 18th century.  It is one of five historical libraries in Florence.  Since 1910, it has been the recipient of all printed works from Florence and the surrounding area.


I can't decide whether I'd enjoy working and studying in such an atmospheric place or whether the close proximity of other people shuffling paper would be a hindrance.  I'd love to have the opportunity to try.

Old cars at Lago di Garda

At first I thought this card could be a reproduction because it's in such good condition but the postmark appears to be 1959.  After some time trying to decipher that, I saw that the message on the back is clearly dated 10 September 1959.

It doesn't show a great deal of Lake Garda the largest lake in Italy, it doesn't show it at all, or of the lovely old town of Sirmione, but the old cars in the square are beautiful I think.

Turin

A card sent to me to say thank you for a card I sent to say thank you for a card he sent to me....  Where will it all end? :)

It shows the medieval castle in Turin, overlooking the river Po.  In spite of what it looks like, it isn't a real medieval castle but was built for the exhibition of 1884.

Urbino

The card, as you can see, has suffered some wear and tear, but nothing like the amount of wear and tear that this building, the Palazzo Ducale or the Ducal Palace, has survived during its 600 year history.  Instead of dukes, it now houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche.  Marche is one of the 20 regions of Italy and borders the Adriatic Sea on the eastern side of the country. 

The Palace is part of the historic centre of Urbino which is much as it was in the 16th century.  During its years of distinction, it attracted many renowned scholars and artists from all over Italy and Europe.  From that time on, though, it became somewhat isolated with the result that it still looks very much as it did at its height.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sand and sea

I find the end of January and the beginning of February a hard time of year.  The festivities are over, the weather is nothing to write home about, and spring seems such a long way off.  So I was delighted to receive this card just the other day to remind me of summer.  I'm not normally a beach person, in fact I'd prefer to visit a beach in winter, but this certainly lifted my spirits.

Sardegna, or Sardinia, is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily.  Like Sicily, it is an autonomous region of Italy and , again like Sicily, has its own distinct language.

I was looking for something to say about this particular beach (other than make a comment about its name) when I found an article saying that it is "set on a suggestive gorge".  Not so long ago someone thanked me for sending such a suggestive postcard.  I was really concerned that somehow I'd unintentionally offended but the card was truly just a landscape.  It dawned on me that it could be a translation issue, so this time I knew - "suggestivo" in Italian can also mean evocative or striking.  Quite a relief!

This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Venice, Rio dell'Osmarin

I will always pick up a card from Venice - my grandfather was born there and it has special meaning for me.  When I found this one I was sure I had a modern card very similar but after a long search I've decided I must have been thinking of an old photo I took a long time ago.  In case it means anything to those who know, it's an Edizione di lusso L'Argentografica di Torino.

It shows one of the smaller canals, one that has no path beside it. I still find it amazing how Venice functions as a major city and yet is completely free of motor cars or lorries.  It is fascinating to see DHL and similar delivery service motorboats going along the canals.

Again it's the message, written in July 1937, that interests me as much as the card:

We arrived here this afternoon.  It's marvellous, just like I always imagined it.  We spent 5 days in Florence and saw Pisa and Padova!  We leave for the Dolomites tomorrow.  Think of 4 days in the mountains in an open car!  I'm longing for a cold country again.  I'm sure I could never stand Tahiti.  Italy is a raging inferno at present.

First of all, I can't imagine why they were spending only one day in Venice.  Talk about a whistle stop tour.  But this was 1937 and I do wonder how many people in those days would tour Italy in an open car.  A very select few, I imagine.  So it's another card that leaves me conjuring up images in my mind.