Herb Riddle's photos with the keyword: Tuscany

I conclude my ‘Memories of Tuscany’ with another beautiful view of its rural countryside taken on our last day, on the drive back from Bibbona. Here we see another hillside dwelling in those rustic reds along with their interesting out- houses. The trees look a little like Almond or Olive, but the stars of this scene to me, are the red poppies blowing in the breeze. See PiP. I hope you have enjoyed my virtual tour into this most beautiful and historic part of Italy and maybe it will induce you too, to take a visit someday. As usual, best viewed in full screen.

Enjoy a short stretch here of this wonderful avenue of pines. I originally believed this to be the famous Viale dei Cipressi (Boulevard of Cypresses) near Bolgheri as we were quite close to that. I did originally title this the Boulevard of Cypresses. Thanks to our fellow Ipernity friend Annalia S. (below) for kindly pointed out my error. As usual, best viewed in full screen.

Just a few miles from our holiday dwelling, here is another hilltop village called Bibbona. Enjoy the quite rustic streets here with me and don’t disturb the inhabitants with all that camera clicking. ‘The medieval hamlet of Bibbona sits in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 kilometres southwest of Florence. The main village is located six kilometres inland from its sister popular resort of Marina di Bibbona with its sandy beaches. PiP's As usual, best viewed in full screen.

The climax of any visit to this city has to be its famous leaning tower. I must admit, that I was even more impressed with the cathedral and its Baptistery all in the same square. One could get to the top if you were prepared to pay the price and wait for a few hours. We did not have the luxury of time and so had to forgo that experience. Must admit too, that I never took a single shot of my wife pushing the tower back straight, or having it in her hand, as countless other tourist seem to be doing. Ah well, it was still a most enjoyable lifetime experience witnessing all this. “The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral, known worldwide for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is the third-oldest structure in the Square, The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in). The tower has 296 steps but two less on the short side of the building. The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure's weight, and it worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century. By 1990 the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.” As usual, best visual results in full screen.

A walk through the center of the old city eventually brings us here to the Piazza dei Miracoli, formally the ‘Piazza del Duomo’ – Cathedral Square. Centre of attraction in this photo is the cathedral itself, the Cattedrale di Pisa which was started in 1063. The left side of this picture is actually the front main Entrance (pip). To the left of that (facing the entrance) is another impressive round building: The San Giovanni Baptistery (Battistero di San Giovanni) . Of course to its right is the famous leaning tower. Pisa Cathedral is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. It is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. Wikipedia “San Giovanni Baptistery (Battistero di San Giovanni): The Baptistery of San Giovanni was founded on 15 August 1152. It is here that the Sacrament of Baptism is administered and the Christian embarks upon the path of Faith. The reason that such a fascinating and enigmatic building was constructed was certainly the wish to endow the cathedral with a worthy adjunct: a Baptistery that, in terms of position, size, materials and style, would be in harmony with the majestic building that already stood opposite.” Enjoy full screen.

Pisa, as we continue our stroll towards the city centre and the fabled leaning tower we spy this wonderful church here on the River Arno. "Santa Maria della Spina is a small church in the Italian city of Pisa. The church, erected around 1230 in the Pisan Gothic style, and enlarged after 1325, was originally known as Santa Maria di Pontenovo for the newer bridge that existed nearby, collapsed in the 15th century, and was never rebuilt." Wiki Enjoy full size

On our way back to Cecina from Siena, we pass this wonderful iconic Tuscan landscape complete with red roofed farms, Italian cypress trees and poppies. This is one of my all-time-great landscapes which I hope you enjoy as much as me. The Pip shows my sister photograph of same. Full screen essential for total immersion.

My last photo from this wonderful city is one of the main streets up to the high centre of town. To me, this was my favourite shot of the trip. Its…well, just so classical Italian. I love the straw coffee colour of these buildings and any artist out there might be familiar with a couple of the main names for their paints: ‘Raw Sienna’ and ‘Burnt Sienna’, which are both very similar colours to what you see here. I wonder if the names derive from scenes of Siena like this?.... Our Ipernity friend Daniela, below, provides the answer. Enjoy full screen

Siena, has beautiful light! It all works so perfectly well with the coffee coloured walls of its many buildings. Here we have a view of one of the many streets with high walls and shuttered windows. Of course the shadows from the opposite buildings gave me this unique bridge-like effect here. The green, white and red national flags help too (il Tricolore) :) Enjoy full screen

A view from the inside of this wonderful palace or to be more exact, the internal courtyard, that lends us a high clear view outside, to the tall tower of Mangia. Inside here on the walls are quite a few things of interest including this bronze sculpture of ‘The Capitoline Wolf’ depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. See PiP Enjoy full screen

Our walk continues to the centre of this lovely city as we come to this large square. Looming 102 meters over the Piazza del Campo, the elegant, sleek tower to the Palazzo Pubblico is the third tallest in all of Italy. Built from red brick, as a symbol of its affinity to the “commoner” the tower is 87 meters tall of brick and the remaining is a white travertine, most probably to make it visually more prominent. Siena was determined to give the church and the civic authority the same “power” and reverence, so when building the tower which would eventually become the Tower of Mangia and the cathedral bell tower, there were to be of the same height as the cathedral to show that they are equal powers. In reality the bell tower of the Duomo of Siena is only 77 meters, the position of the bell tower is 10 meters higher on the hill - so when gazing upon the skyline of Siena as you are walking the via Francigena, it actually looks the same. Enjoy full screen

The next town on our Tuscany list is Siena. Here we see a view looking towards the highest part of this charming city, showing its cathedral, ‘Duomo di Siena’. Its construction started in 1196 and it is built with medieval bricks. The Pip shows the main forward view of this magnificent building. Enjoy.

Another in my ‘Memories of Tuscany’ series here. We have now left the iconic hilltop town of Volterra but it can still be seen here high on a plateau in the background hills. Before us is the typical landscape of Tuscany framed by a gap in this old wooden fence. Of course the reddish flowers give our eyes a base to start from. Best full screen –of course :) HFF and enjoy your weekend.

Just about 10km south from our accommodation at Cecina is this small but pleasant seaside resort of Mariana di Bibbona. Like lots of the beaches around here, many places are reserved for those that are willing to pay. I – well, I wander around with my camera looking for scenes like this, and I very seldom sit down to sun-bathe. Hope you enjoyed this free view as much as I did. Especially in full screen Ps - We will visit the hillside village of Bibbona later.

A winding ploughed field track takes our eye and imagination directly to this ruin. What was it? - I have no idea, but it must have been a fair size with its many windows and high walls. Perhaps a castle of old, belonging to a Baron or Prince before being besieged? This taken some miles Southwest of Volterra on our way back to Cecina. Enjoy full screen

Volterra is another town of tight narrow streets and alleyways as can be seen here. I believe it was common practice to build arches joining high buildings that were close together to counter earthquake damage in such areas. Of course the streets are narrow so that the buildings can give cool shade, and the heights were driven by the needs of a high population in a very restrictive footprint on this hilltop plateau. Enjoy full screen

Our next hilltop town is Volterra known as the gem of Tuscany. Here we are just outside one of the walled gateways. Another medieval town of character and some high towers too. The domed building seen here is The Baptistery San Giovanni. (The main entrance road is seen below to the left with the parked cars.) Enjoy full screen

As people go about their normal day and tourist look for the next souvenir shop, I run around with my camera to my eye and just shoot and shoot. Here a double arched thoroughfare lets me capture part of this medieval town in all its splendor. Enjoy full screen