A PHOTO ESSAY BY SOFIA RAMOS
Beautifully-aged buildings in Rome, Italy. Their characteristic warm color palette and rough texture contrast against the blue of the sky.
Every country has its own color, zest, and flavor. This statement can be taken both literally and figuratively. Italy’s beautiful mediterranean color palette and earth tones cover its buildings and fill its streets— a seemless extension of its natural environement. Each country also has distinct characteristics that make it unique; its language, style, cuisine, mannerisms, and way of living. These defining characteristics stem from the country’s environment— its landscapes, architecture, and location— and culminate to form a beautiful culture, a blend of colors that can’t be seen anywhere else. The goal of this photo essay is to capture the color of Italy, whether through the liveliness of its bustling cities, the magnificence of its architecture, or the beautiful simplicity of its nature. Rather than focusing on specific people or significant buildings or works of art, this essay captures the smaller details that give Italy its rich culture and timeless beauty, while still highlighting some of it’s well-known monuments and masterpieces that contribute to it’s wonder; to bring the country to life in the eye of the viewer by capturing these details that make Italy one of the most beautiful civilizations on earth.
Fresh fruit along a small market near the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. Each little street seemed to lead to new surprises, whether vinecovered walls and windows filled with flowers, shops filled with endless amounts of gelato, or baskets of fresh fruit spilling into the streets.
LEFT The Duomo of Florence, also known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (“Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers”), is the primary church in Florence, Italy. Construction began on the Duomo in 1296 and wasn’t completed until 1436. Multiple Architects worked on the project, including Filippo Brunelleschi, who engineered the dome after the rest of the cathedral was completed. NEXT The cart of a book merchant in the streets of Florence.
“The David” by Michelangelo in the Galleria De Academia. Perhaps Michelangelo’s most famous work, this piece was completed in 1507, and has become world-renouned as one of the greatest Masterpieces of mankind.
LEFT The monument to Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi by Lorenzo Bartolini. This work is housed in the Bartolini Hall in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence Italy. RIGHT The works of Lorenzo Bartolini in the Galleria Academia in Florence, Italy. The hall is considered the greatest collection of plaster casts by the Italian scultptor. It was my favorite collection of art in Florence; the lighting in the room paired with the art was breathtaking.
“Every
which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come.� MICHELANGELO
PREVIOUS The Cathedral of Saint Mary, the Duomo, in Florence, Italy. LEFT An elevated view of the beautiful Piazza del Duomo in Florence, overlooking the Baptistery of St. John and the Cathedral of Saint Mary. RIGHT Florals around Florence, Italy. They are nearly everywhere: growing up walls, filling window sills, lining walkways and filling baskets.
The bustling streets of the Piazza del Duomo in Florence, Italy. This photo represents everyday sights in Florence: busy locals shopping and conversing, wide-eyed tourists filling the streets and snapping photos, and families and friends enjoying the beautiful spring weather and each others’ company over an Italian espresso.
Friends in awe of the beauty that is Florence, Italy.
The Roman Colossem, located in the center of Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was completed in AD 80 and is the largest ampitheatre ever built.
A pleasant street lined with apartments in Rome, Italy on our walk towards the Borghese.
The monument built for Italy’s first king, Victor Emmanuel, in Rome, Italy.
“Simplicity is the ultimate “
DA VINCI
Ironically , this is one of my favorite shots from the trip. Nothing fancy, not a famous piece of art or archecture, just pretty flowers climbing the overhang on the way out of the subway in Rome, Italy.
The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.
LEFT Pretty flowers peeking out of a pretty window in Rome. TOP An atypical shot of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy. I love the texture and colors that show the wear and tear of the famous Roman icon. BOTTOM A chalk artist in Rome.
The beautiful streets of Florence, Italy. Ut quam dolut am aliatiuntiae enti consequam, sam que nus alis quostius, odi sitibust, se plati cor audandic temporemolum volo eatis es am conseribus re millanda quam, quis qui im elis sunt eum rest, totas aut dolore consequi odit et laceaquae volenda ndempor eicitas eos et alitaque cus de omnisci sunt et acepratem rempore ictur, te poreperum qui omnis di nestin recti dollaccus doluptate ide vel ide mo et aspe eos eum exero officatin re lame nistrum alicim et et, omnim lab int voluptas et faccatia volorru mquist omnis el eos volut ex endaectur autem. Itam sum nobiti tem versperem qui dit,
A pretty little park in Rome we walked through on our last day.
LEFT Friends, florals and pretty walls...in Italy. It doesn’t get much better. RIGHT One of my favorite apartment photos captured on our last day in Rome.
“All works, no matter what or by whom painted,
but bagatelles and childish trifles... unless they are made and painted from life; and there can
better than to follow nature.� CARAVAGGIO
One of my favorite shots from the trip. To me, this is the quintessence of an Italian street: tired, slanted brick streets, peach colored buildings that are losing their color, and a tiny red car with a crisp Roma license plate.
FAVORITE MOMENTS CAPTURED ON MY IPHONE