A quite place for memory and thoughts.

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I was photographing this Genista flower in the sunset when luckily a hover fly alighted. Everything was ready to take a good macro: I didn’t waste my chance!

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The whole Liguria was covered by a thick blanket of clouds. Climbing up the Ligurian Alps, towards Monesi di Triora, I finally emerged under blue sky, leaving the grey clouds below. I captured this scene upon come back, after a day snowshoeing to the summit of Monte Saccarello (m. 2200 circa), at the border between Italy and France. The sun already set, but the rising moon and the last light illuminating this wonderful scene.

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Some winters ago I was exploring the High Valtellina and the valleys that lead into the secluded ski-resort of Livigno. It was 2003, down in Bormio there was a lot of ice but very little snow. To reach Livigno from Bormio you must cross the Passo del Foscagno, and finally up there, we found a lot of snow. Some kilometers away from the pass starts the Val di Vallaccia. The snow was almost untouched, powdery and perfect. We followed a large trail to this group of houses. Some ski tracks descended from the side slopes. Everything was white, pure, refreshing. I wish I had snowshoes to continue towards the end of the valley and be even more immersed in all this whiteness!

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High above the millenary marble quarries of Massa and Carrara (Tuscany, Italy), lies Campo Cecina, an undulating pasture perched among the steep cliffs of the Alpi Apuane. At 1300m and few kilometers from the Mediterranean, it’s possibile to enjoy a birds-eye-view of the flat coast shore of the Versilia and the Gulf of La Spezia, with the islands of Tino and Tinetto, Portovenere and the terraced hills of the Cinque Terre. So clear was the evening that it was also possible to see the Maritime Alps and the unique shape of the Monviso (soon in a coming post). These marble quarries had been exploited by the Romans to build the magnificent buildings of Rome and are still in use today. Lorries climb up the tracks carved in the slopes and at times a detonation goes off, another chunk separated from the mountain.

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It occasionally snows around Genoa and when it happens it’s a transformation. I go out to take pictures, unusual ones: the well known locations become a novelty. Here is depicted the Monte Fasce, which dominates western Genoa, from the winding road that leads to Sori and Uscio. I walked up to a small ridge where the wind gathered a lot of untouched snow. It helped me give the impression of a heavy snowfall (actually it hardly persisted more than a day). On top of Monte Fasce there is a crowd of antennas, fueling our appetite for information and communication.

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Another snow abstract, taken in the same place as the previous one, that is Bardonecchia, Italy. But that’s not important, since you can find such shapes almost everywhere there is some untouched snow modelled by the wind. I enjoy the transformations snow brings to the landscape and to the small things that surround our everyday life. Unfortunately (for some aspects it is a blessing actually) I do not live in a place where it snows a lot (just once every winter, in average), but I frequent the mountains in all the seasons and adore snow, and always keep an open eye for strange forms.

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With the winter approaching (and in many places already arrived) I like to share this abstract snow detail with you. It was shot in the Western Alps above the Olympic-famous town of Bardonecchia, Italy. There’s a valley called Valle Stretta (narrow valley) due to the vertical cliffs and steep ancient stone avalanches that close in on the valley floor. For many this place is also the Small Dolomites of Piedmont, since the peaks resemble the more famous ones in Trentino and Veneto. Unfortunately, during these last years tourism increased tremendously, not at pace with the limited infrastructures and the inherent valley “smallness”.

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Another photo from the same clear-day session above Genoa. This time I zoomed-in on the spot where the sun disappeared. I enjoyed how these warm hues spread across the sky, like a colossal fire were buring behind the mountains.

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Monte Fasce dominates eastern Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Its flanks descend steeply towards the Mediterranean. On a clear day, like this, one can see the peaks of the Maritime Alps, near the border with France. The setting sun painted the sky orange and I felt suspended above land and sea.

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