OLD ITALY (Scenes from the countryside)

Last Summer I was in Alberobello, a town outside the city of Bari, in Puglia. I love the place and its unique architecture: the ice cream shaped houses are ancient and inspiring. It was a very hot August day and, as I had done so many times in the past, I was walking up and down wide steps. On either side, rows of Trulli (local historic houses.)


Suddenly, armed with my camera and my inquisitive, nosey,( it has to be said) nature, I followed my instinct and ventured, by myself, away from the crowd. The sun was so hot I almost felt drunk. The beauty of this place always made me feel dizzy! It was a good feeling: hot and dizzy... Tinkerbell had worked her magic, once again! The fairy dust still worked its magic!


With amazement, I found myself in a sheltered corner, in the company of old wine barrels, a cart, big wooden wheels and sacks full of... something. A black and white cat run away, up some steps, as I stopped to look at the scene in front of my eyes. This was too beautiful. It couldn't just happen to be there, by chance. Everything looked as if it had been carefully designed and arranged by an artist and I couldn't believe how lucky I had been to have found a truly spellbinding corner, within an extremely beautiful town.

In the crevices between steps grew some spiky Aloe Vera... how could it survive without soil, nor food? But it was alive and beautiful, and it even bore juicy berries!

Even the ancient stone walls were alive with moss and lichen. The stones had been arranged with so much expertise and balance, I just wanted to stand there, in amazement and take it all in. Is it possible to find so much beauty in a little corner? In Italy, it certainly is!