When we were wandering in Naples - Italy, we were enchanted by their subway system. Those subway stations are true art, and can be a great example to the world! Vivi was so excited about it, she even dances there. Well, now she was dancing, but only a few days before she was scared to death. Naples is a kinda scary city before you get used to it and know its magic.
Pienza was the first city we visited on our big photographic travel in Tuscany. I cannot remember if this was the first planned point from our long bullet list or it was by a chance, a morning decision over the cups of coffee we had in the lovely garden with stunning views towards the hill towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano.
Going to this hill establishment only opened our eyes and prepared us for the divine beauties of the region, accomplished by the united efforts of Mother Nature and the local people with artistic inclinations, if I may say that.
Let me present to you our story and experiences in a chronological order. The first building we noticed by lifting our eyes up was the beautiful brick bell tower with the metallic cross and the coat of arms on top:
The flags at the city hall suggested the city is under the aegis of UNESCO. The three flags, of the European Union and Italy, go hand in hand here.
The feeling I got that day was calm, people were relaxed and almost everyone was smiling, enjoying the good energy of the day and the place.
This says year 1462, if I read the Roman numbers correctly? See what the quality of the details is and how it persisted through the ages...
This rest place of this pigeon has put a smile on my face :)
A city of colors. Such tiny lovely details only make the warm feeling warmer:
We passed by few small shops offering several different types of prosciutto, salami and smoked/dried meat, of course, we fell into the temptation and tasted some of them, along with local red wines, of course. But only few tiny sips for me, as I had to drive back to our house later in the same evening. A must try, I have to say!
If you happen to be there, try searching for small details. I loved these casted iron decorations over the rings used in the past to tie the horses, I suppose. I've seen such in many countries I've traveled to, but they rarely are made so beautiful!
Once I got to the outskirts of the city, I enjoyed walking a narrow pedestrian street with amazing view towards the valley. I took plenty of photos from that alley, all angles were breathtaking!
Those beautiful lines of cypress trees along the roads are so typical for Tuscany.
How could one not fall in love with this region???
Here is how this street looks, a tiny part of it of course. The panoramas from there are unique and no wonder we spent much time there, and of course it wasn't only us.
Flowers everywhere :)
Those beautiful plowed autumn fields viewable over the roof of the houses covered in ancient tiles...
Here's how the street names plates look like around:
I heard that in the winter some of the places in the mountains are hard to live in but in the autumn everything was looking and feeling warm.
... and if by any chance it starts raining and you don't have an umbrella, borrow one and don't forget to return it here when the rain is over :)
It's typical for the people here to dry their laundry at and over the narrow streets. Now imagine the smell of the clean clothes :)
At some point we ran into this motor show of those simpatico three-wheeled vehicles, their sound suggested they are built upon the engines of motorcycles but interestingly it seems they are allowed to be driven without vehicle registration. Interesting.
Scenic laundry drying at one of the houses built on the top. The wind and the Sun are the best and the most eco dryer, aren't they :)
Few more views from the external alley that took my breath away and a lot of storage from my camera card memory :)
I love getting lost in the small streets, pathways and alleys. They are away from the noise of the crowd and there are always things that could be found within a specific time interval and then they disappear, one reason or another.
We check few artisan and art shops and it was very pleasant to exchange few words with their owners. I found out the local artists are very open, the most of them looked happy.
Another colorful street details, caressing the eyes.
As my final image from this story I have decided to show you this huge tall wall, that had protected the city in the past, now covered with this thick knots formed by the roots of the plants growing here for centuries.
This wasn't my first visit to Trieste. When I was a child, shopping tours from my country to this city were often organized and I visited this city several times with my parents, but I only remember shopping malls. Now I have visited Trieste with different interests. Although I love shopping very much, this time there wasn’t enough time for it. This visit was accidental and short because we stayed in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Before this visit, I visited this city for the last time on an excursion in high school, but that visit was also based on shopping in large shopping malls.
The first impression when we arrived in Trieste was, "are we in Italy?" Honestly, I didn't feel the Italian spirit like in other Italian cities I've traveled to before. I felt some special, unique spirit. Trieste was part of Austria in the past and the cultural and historical heritage is imbued with the Austrian spirit and architecture.
I also felt at home. Italians are very kind and hospitable people. I was amazed by the architecture, cleanliness, and tidiness of the city. The city is rich in religious buildings and cultural and historical monuments.
We visited the Piazza Unità d'Italia or the Unity of Italy Square, the main square in Trieste, and perhaps the largest square I have ever seen. I am sorry that we were not in the square in the evening because then the blue lamps placed on the surface are lit and they symbolize the sea. Around the square are the 7 most luxurious palaces in the city.
Here is a monument to Carlo VI d'Asburgo who played a significant role in the development of the city and its architectural appearance and also a monument that I liked very much - The fountain of the Four Continents. It represents four continents by different animals. The horse represents Europe, the crocodile America, the lion Africa and the camel Asia (Australia was not yet discovered at that time). The symbol of the city of Trieste is a female figure at the top who flies over the symbols of the continents and hospitably welcomes guests from all over the world.
The place that left a strong impression on me is the Teatro Romano, where gladiatorial fights used to take place. Today, music events are held here.
I also liked Scala di Giganti. It is a large and steep stairway that connects the heart of Trieste with its streets. When you climb here the view of the city is amazing.
Trieste is much more than shopping and I am happy to have found out even though it took me many years.
Thank you very much for reading.
Even this castle like the previous one had been practically destroyed by the Republic of Venice so that it was not taken by the enemy but fortunately after a recovery work we can now admire the keep, the main tower which has a height of about 25 meters.
You enter from a single entrance and the castle is always open on Sundays and public holidays from 3 to 6:30 pm, while Juliet's castle can always be visited during the restaurant's opening hours.
There is a beautiful path that runs around the castle and gives you the opportunity to grasp the charm of the entire building.
Inside Romeo's castle on the left we find a staircase that leads to the upper terrace of the tower, dating back to 1930, which unfortunately I found closed that day because they were doing some work on the tower.
Currently inside the castle it has been set up to host theatrical reviews and concerts, in fact, as you can see from the photos, armchairs have been installed to accommodate the public and a stage where the event takes place.
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