Pixiq

As a nature photographer now settled and working in Italy, I definitely see the country in a different light from the creators of the Apple app What Country. The characteristics they chose to sum it up are:  pizza, mafia, pasta, and scooters. It’s a  ‘tongue-in-cheek’ analysis that has certainly riled some politicians here in my adopted homeland.

Dare I say that Italy’s world image is not exactly helped when several serving Italian senators hold convictions for proven association with criminal organizations (Mafia, Camorra and Ndrangheta…). Or, indeed, when the country’s priapic, septuagenarian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, daily hurls his vitriol at top judges as ‘communists’ and ‘criminals’ for attempting to bring him to book for his many (alleged) financial improprieties. The brightest young people leave in droves because of few employment opportunities based on merit.

Italy is not a simple country - the more I see the more I feel that anyone who thinks they understand it is seriously misinformed. As Italian friends put it:  “We just get on with life, political corruption and ineptitude goes back 3000 years and more: but we always find ways...”  What overwhelms us is the enduring warmth and generosity of the resourceful Italian people through the many friends we have and a shared love of good food and wine: being cooks ourselves was the key to acceptance.

Italy has an incredible historic legacy in its art and architecture, But there is another side of Italy that I am truly passionate about – its natural heritage. This treasure house is often overlooked and  a small number of very dedicated people work against local intrigue and a tide of indifference to protect it - the gallery is a homage to this patrimony.

For any photographer, Italian hill towns have a timeless appeal being set in some of the most evocative landscapes to be found anywhere. The ambient light has an astonishing clarity throughout the seasons but especially in spring and autumn. Where we live there is a tangible ‘feel’ of history and of things just being visually ‘right’ with changes wrought by humans seemingly in harmony with nature. That is ‘old Italy’ and there is still plenty of it - whereas so much modern concrete architecture sucks. Comparisons may be odious but then so are the buildings.

So, what brought me here, apart that is from the proverbial ‘love of a good woman?' By filling my light boxes with medium format Velvia transparencies, I survived many grey, wet British winters with fantasies of spring and summer. Scarlet poppies, yellow tulips, orchids… electric blue gentians did the trick providing an effective therapy for dispelling the gloom. It was always the Italian displays that grabbed me above all others and, at times, they were so evocative I could shut my eyes and smell the air heavy with rosemary or thyme in spring… it was pure, unadulterated escapism. Finally, I went looking for the real thing!

By European standards Italy is a long, thin country in which you can get from sea level to 9,000 feet and higher in a few hours. The range of habitats offered within close proximity is extraordinary.

Around us farming is traditional and last winter, local farmers ploughed their fields and left land fallow: the result was acres blazing colour as poppies and cornflowers grew from seeds left dormant in the soil.

In March and April there are the wild orchids of Gargano, in May, we can be amongst the mountains of the Sibillini to witness a mist of white narcissus and yellow tulips whilst higher on the hillsides grow wild paeonies. In June, climb even higher into the Apennines and the Dolomites where the snow is melting and the crocus flowers appear in great drifts of lilac.

The gallery with this post reveals the Italy I know… represent a part of why I love this country. My website has more images (large vistas, small inhabitants) and also details of the tours we run for those who want to combine great food with excellent company and stunning flowers…