rocksea and sarah » italy

living statues of padova

rocksea — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:38:44 +0000

Apart from the living statues, the above 2 photographs have something in common. The first one has a toy-dog in it, and the second one has a toy dog in it [toy dogs are very small dogs which people keep as pets]. The toy-dog in the first one is guarding the collected money. The 2nd one is merely passing by, in front of a Giorgio Armani shop, and appears funny with one of his front legs in the air Click on the images for a larger version.

In action. The kids are always curious about them

Location: Padova [Padua], Italy

Check here for our gallery on >> street artists of Italy <<

door knobs of italy

rocksea — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:55:08 +0000

One of our favorite themes for photography in Italy are these fabulous door knobs. There are a lot of old buildings in Italy, from the ancient to the medieval. Completely new buildings are lesser than you expect and what they usually do here is to repair and modernize old buildings, especially the interiors, while keeping the aesthetically pleasing “ruined” and “old” exteriors.

Many of the old doors in these buildings are huge, and the door knobs and handles have intricate designs on them.

Door Knob, Bologna, Italy

Door Knob, Padova (Padua), Italy

Door Knob, Venezia (Venice), Italy

More from the collection are in the gallery >> Door Knobs of Italy <<

caricatures from venice

rocksea — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:54:31 +0000

You might have seen some photographs of Florentine caricaturists at work, among our earlier photo journals. It was our turn to be seated this time, before Lorenzo, the Venezian caricaturist :)

We asked if he could do baby pratyahara along with us, but he replied that he could not do babies and kids as the features aren’t yet developed and if he draws them they may look like grown ups.

We were happy and satisfied with the results!

street artists of italy

rocksea — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:54:23 +0000

We love theme photography, and one of our themes are the street artists of Italy.

Living statue at Milan, Italy

Check here for our gallery on
>> street artists of Italy <<
>> street musicians of Italy <<

@ Florence, Italy

@ Bologna, Italy

the violin boy

rocksea — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:00:21 +0000

This is one of the favorites in our collection of the street musicians in italy. The emotion and the feeling of motion, and the lighting in this image “promptly” moves my heart every time I see it.

A boy playing El Choclo on Violin, before the museum Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy, where the statue of Michelangelo’s David is kept. El Choclo is a popular song/tango written by Angel G. Villoldo, an Argentine musician.

Playing guitar at the bridge on River Arno in Florence, Italy.

We had published a different image of “Music on Bottles” earlier. This time, it is the kids that capture the magic @ Bologna, Italy.

butterfly mating and marmots at the alps

rocksea — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:57:27 +0000

The male orange tip butterfly, striking a majestic pose, with its legs firmly placed on the plant and err.. the female orange tip below…

Orange tips (anthocharis cardamines) are common across Europe and found in some regions of Asia with temperate climates. The male has the characteristic orange tip on its forewings while the tips are greyish for the female.

and… for a better view of the tranquil mating…

Well, somebody else is not quite happy with their tranquil mating. Another male orange tip flies on to interrupt the pair.

All these happened in this beautiful valley of the Alps, at Valsavarence, Vale d’Aosta in Italy.

The Alps host a wide range of endemic species of the animal kingdom, including the alpine marmots (marmota marmota). Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. You can see the main burrow of a marmot family here. This burrow is just a part of their larger underground networking system. The whole terrain would be full of holes and burrows interconnected. We found this while following an ibex, an alpine antelope, and my foot got into many of those numerous marmot holes.

Interestingly, close relatives to the alpine marmots are found at Ladakh in India too.

More pictures from Aosta Valley are at our Nature Italia Gallery <<<

Aosta Valley is 2 hours from Turin, and near the French border. We were stationed at Valsavarenche, in the Gran Paradiso National Park, which is the oldest national park of Italy.

the accordion girl

rocksea — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:40:20 +0000

Her name is Nicola. She had come from Brindisi with her father, to play on the streets of Lecce. Though tired, she adorned a pretty smile when she posed and played the accordion for me. Piazza Sant’ Oronzo at the far end in the background.

Wherever you go in Italy, chances are that you will come across a street musician thrumming out for his life. Venturing around, we found music coming out from violins to beer bottles to hammered dulcimers. Italians! They know how to live music. Many a times their music have added color and vigor to our days, and in return me and sarah have been supporting them whenever possible.

This mesmerizing musician was playing Beethoven on the beer bottles. Near Piazza Maggiore, Bologna.

Another day, we found this lonely but jovial old man playing his harmonica, with his own mobile speaker system. @ Piazza Nettuno, Bologna.

— More of Italian street musicians who captured our hearts —

marine life on the rocky shores of gallipoli

rocksea — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:17:41 +0000

Italy is full of towering historical edifices, and during our euro-mediterranean adventures, we were enchanted to see that it has a rich marine life too. It was a warm afternoon at Gallipoli, south of Italy. We went to swim and feel the Ionian Sea, but soon found ourselves studying the marine life thriving on the rocky shores.

Marine Life & Colors under splashing waves @ Gallipoli, Puglia, Italy

… along came a jellyfish

We were in the sea while this jellyfish floated by, along with some non-aquatic plants. We were amazed by the beautiful red floral like patterns on its umbrella. The externally visible patterns match to the Pelagia noctiluca, a toxic, stinging jellyfish, commonly known as the mauve stinger in the Mediterranean. The mauve stinger has the ability to glow in the dark [nocti = night, luca = light]. However, we didn’t find any protruding tentacles on its body and we are not sure if it is the mauve stinger itself.

A closeup of the floral patterns on the mediterranean jellyfish. Jellyfish are known as medusa in Italian, attributing to the greek mythical sea nymph of the same name.

coral like formation on the rocky shores, with white ‘flower’ crests

hide and seek… a mediterranean crab cozily camoflagued in its rocky surroundings

— More of what we captured @ Gallipoli —

Gallipoli is a small town in Salento, southern Italy, in the Puglia region. It is located by the Ionian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean. Less than 1 hour by train, from Lecce, capital of Puglia.

The beaches of Salento are marvellous, with white sandy beaches and intermittent rocky shores like these. Portrayed in the local dialect, Lu Salentu, lu sule lu mare lu ientu [Salento, the sun, the sea, the wind].