[Mantova] City*set

Photos by Motocchio

1. swan lake, 2. wings, 3. FADED MEMORY: swan lake in late autumn, 4. FADED MEMORY: drive in a foggy day, 5. PRELUDE: birds, 6. calm swim, 7. the end of the day, the beginning of spring, 8. *, 9. morning at the market day, 10. *, 11. her morning, 12. perspective, 13. winter morning diptych, 14. 冬の散歩／passeggiata invernale, 15. mantova, february 2008, 16. FADED MEMORY: on the way

Hanoi Old Quarter

By Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988). A painter famous for the paintings of Hanoi Old Quarter.

[Montreal] - Corroded colossus

Corroded colossus
Originally uploaded by IrenaS

Photo by IrenaS at Flickr

Still there...

"I heard the familiar sounds of the street below: the high-pitched call of the bread seller, the newsboys reciting the day's headlines through an amplifier on his bicycle, the growl of jackhammers, the tap, tap, tao of the bronze caster's hammer on an emerging statue of Buddha. It was a reassuring medley, a reminder that even as great changes were sweeping through South East Asia's oldest capital, the intimacy and timelessness of Hanoi lingered, undaunted by the suffering of war or the burdens of peace." David Lamb, National Geographic 2004

[Hanoi] Poem

Ten years, time turned into a durable thread
Flowers bloom in violets, the wall covered with mold and moss.
Ten years in Hanoi and I have found
My own sort of joys and sorrows.
Poet Nguyen Duc Mau

Quote of the Day

"Kyoto's beauty is elusive and has to be sought out with patience and forethought......the best of what Kyoto has to offer is often small in scale and of a delicacy that the encroachment of raucous modernity seems always to underline, and sometimes enhance." Alan Booth, 1991

A Little Lost

"I thought I knew Venice but suddenly you're in the middle of that kaleidoscope of people and places and little pieces and little bridges and little canals and you don't know where the hell you are." Alan Whicker. Sunday Life March 12, 2006

[Beijing] - Population

The influx of migrant workers into the capital had seen Beijing's population reach 17.4 million, the paper said in a separate report, only 600,000 short of a ceiling of 18 million the city government had set for 2020. Reuters, 4 December 2007

[Chongqing] - Disappearing Place

35-398 重庆龚滩 － Chongqing Gongtan
Originally uploaded by boochap

Photo by boochap at Flickr

Quote of the Day

"Bogota is a city of conversation. As yo walk along you have to keep skirting couples or small groups, all absorbed in excited talk. Some of them even stand out in the middle of the street, holding up the traffic. We suppose they are discussing politics. The cafes are crammed, too; and everybody has a newspaper, to quote from or simply wave in the air". The Condor and the Cows, Christopher Isherwood

fyi : Mexico City

Population : 24 million
Area : 2,000 sq km

Two cities

"For centuries, travelers, historians, writers, politicians, tourists and even Italians themselves like to compare these two cities : Florence and Siena." Desmond Ong

Perfect City

"So what do we learn from the Bologna model? if you want create utopia, put your city in the middle of a rich agricultural area; make good eating a priority for everyone; set up a large university and allow it freedom if thought; spend 1000 years building and preserving a historic centre; let workers band together to improve their conditions, run their own businesses, and form a political party; and have your city regularly criticised by religious conservatives so that your citizens can enjoy a satisfying sense of boldness. What could be simpler?"
Essential Places, David Dale

[Lucca] - aerial

Aerial view of the well preserved medieval city of Lucca
Source:Google Earth

The most Beautiful Italian City

Jakob Burckhardt the great historian of the Italian Renaissance wrote, "Considering individual buildings, there are four or five cities preceeding Bologna, but it is and remains the most beautiful Italian city judged as a whole".