These are a selection of drawings made during our 9 day trip to Italy. For the first five days we shared a villa in hills near Massa Lubrense which is a few miles west of Sorrento.
On the first day our friends wanted to "chill out", fortunately the villa was
surrounded with things that I wanted to draw, like this ancient olive tree
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| Ancient Olive tree |
and this delicate sedge
The temperatures were in the mid twenties and there were plenty of lizards
that darted across the stones and rustled amongst the leaves. I found that if I
sat still long enough they would return and watch me back
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| Green lizard on leaf |
and there was even a gecko which sat on the wall at
night
Our spacious villa had been built by the owner farmer in his olive and lemon grove. He had put all his passion into decorating the bedrooms with brightly coloured friezes of mermaids and Romans.
There was even a Roman in a tree guarding the entrance.
Strangely his eccentric tastes fitted well with the history and personality of the landscape.
After we had settled in we took the car down winding roads to a fishing village built
on cliff edges. Massa Lubrense has a pretty harbour which is reached by walking down a
steep-stepped ally between pretty fisherman's cottages that are now mostly uninhabited (take a look if you are wanting a to buy a holiday home in Italy). The main square of the
town is well kept and thriving.
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| Massa Lubrense |
The following day we tried to go to Pompeii but took a wrong
turning and ended up driving the length of the coastal road that winds along cliff edges through towns that cling to the south side of the Almalfi peninsular. I chose this picture because it shows the narrow road we travelled along as well as the
extreme beauty of the scenery, it took us three hours to travel 50km.
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| Positano |
By the time we arrived at Pompeii and had something to eat it was already too late to visit the ruins. The next day we used the direct route and reached Pompeii at 9.30 am, my friends took a tour of Vesuvius whilst I drew the bell tower in the main square.
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| Bell tower in Pompeii |
The bell tower (1925) stands
more than 80 metres high and is built in grey granite and
white marble. Next to the tower is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary which was completed in 1901.
The church is a work of spirit
Inside the air was filled with music and a beautiful tenor voice. Standing discreetly to one side I made these drawings of a marriage ceremony that was taking place. The newly married couple, Carlo and Maria-Rosa Rosso, also had a baby that was brought to the alter and blessed. In the front pew were two brides maids who flitted between their parents and the bride.
The square has an impressive collection of palm trees under which old people sit on park benches
After lunch we entering the ruins of Pompeii. The ruins are vast and badly signed. Mami and I eventually settled in the cool of a Roman bath house where the walls were covered with images of water, like this relief of a cherub and dolphin
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| Cherub and Dolphin - Bath house Pompeii |
and this hippocampus (Seahorse)
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| hippocampus in the bath house Pompeii |
Through images like these it was possible to imagine the spirit of the people who lived there.
The following day we took a boat from Sorrento to Naples. As we were leaving the harbour I drew this image of the rocks of Sorrento.
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| Sorrento |
An impressive castle overlooks the port where we docked,
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| Castel Nuovo Napoli |
inside the walls are museums and galleries where I drew this Madonna.
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| Madonna |
there are also many attractive architectural details, whilst I was drawing this portico a group of guests arrived in chic Italian clothes and gathered round the door for a wedding about to take place inside the castle.
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| Wedding Guests at the Castel Nuovo |
Our trip in Naples was cut short because we had to catch an early boat back to Sorrento. We only had time for a quick lunch and brief walk through the bustling streets of "Old Naples". For me the city was an artists paradise but not for my companions who were disappointed by the graffiti that cover the walls and alleyways that are littered with excrement and broken glass. Sadly we never stopped long enough for me to draw the beautiful lamp posts, architecture and vibrant street life, I only managed one quickly scribbled sketch of an equestrian statue.
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| Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II |
Sorrento is the opposite to Naples. In the summer months it's native populations is swollen with beautiful people from all over the world who come to inhabit the coffee bars and restaurants.
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| Cafe bar in Sorrento |
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| Stephan Nouss |
This is pretty waitress who served us called Imma
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| Imma |
and this is a sketch of the road down to the port
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| road down to Sorrento harbour |
Here is a view from the harbour
In the main Square of Sorrento (Tasso Square) I came across was a statue of a monk with his foot on the head of a fish, the plaque told me the statue used to be on an arch over the city gates and represented the "Protettore di Sorrento".
Walking just a few yards down a side street I found another square with another statue of a monk with his foot on a fish
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| Saint Antonino in Sorrento |
This time I learnt the name of the mysterious protector; St Antonino. The Statue faced a church, this is how statues guided me to the Basilica of St Antonino, patron saint of Sorrento.
St Antonino was born in Campagna and died in Sorrento in 625. Around the upper pediments that rim the interior of the church are a series of pictures depicting the many miracles St Antonino performed in Sorrento, the most famous being the delivery of a child from the mouth of a whale.
St Antonino was a favourite for seafarers who have honoured him by placing these whale bones at the entrance of the Basilica.
St Antonino was a favourite for seafarers who have honoured him by placing these whale bones at the entrance of the Basilica.
In another miracle he rubbed oil to heal the leg of a the Bishop of Sorrento after he had fallen off a donkey. The church offer holy oil to pilgrims who visit St Antonino's tomb in the crypt,
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| St Antonino's tomb in Sorrento |
Pilgrims who are healed by the oil record their gratitude by placing silver plaques around the shrine. It seems the oil is particularly good for healing legs.
but he also heals diseases of the lungs, hearts and minds.
Alas our day at Sorrento was our last on the Almalfi Peninsular, the next day we travelled to a film festival with Alberto who was waiting to be picked up from Naples airport. The drive North took 12 hours. In the unindustrialised South driving seemed like a social dance, even in Naples there are often no traffic lights or rights of way at major junctions, driving was about nudging and giving way. In contrast the motorways of the north are clogged with lorries and competitive drivers that came up behind us and flashed to move us aside.
It was dark and raining when we arrived at our destination which was an Alpine house in the Sud Tyrol, area on the border with Austria where the local population speak German as their first language. The rich land in valley is covered with vineyards and apple trees.
Getting up early I went outside to look at our location, we were on a small holding high in the mountains. The clouds shifted across the valley below us.
The panoramic view was like a cinema screen, the picture always moving between thick white fog and shards of sunshine so hot they burnt the skin. Sometimes when the mist parted and I could see a church in a village below us
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| Church in the clouds |
The countryside felt very alive. Out of the mist I could hear the sound of bells on languid animals. The owner of our house had chickens and a cockerel, three cats that mewed and a caged rabbit with black eyes. I saw jays and heard blackbirds, finches, great tits and the peeping squeaks of families of goldcrests and long tailed tits in the trees about me. On the meadow Alpine flowers were still blooming
in amongst purple Alpine plantains and grasses unknown to me.
Against trees and posts were collections of tools for scratching the earth, scythes for cutting crops, pole ladders for collecting apples.
the owner obviously appreciated nature, he had placed bird boxes for blue tits.
After breakfast we went down to the valley to a food festival that was taking place in Kaltern, a neighbouring town. The rich sun baked valley around Kaltern is covered with neatly tended vineyards (the highest in Europe) and apple groves (10% of Europe's apples are grown in this region). The culture and food festival was very German; Apple strudel, beer, tidy, geraniums, reserved warmth, there was little of untidiness and informal friendliness we had seen in Souther Italy. |
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| Kaltern |
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| Drinking in Kaltern |
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| The Fountain in Kaltern |
Even the smallest village had beautiful well kept churches,
and perched on rocks are impressive ruins of castles
In the evening we went to the film festival that was being held in old railway station. The film Alberto was showing is about Mami's dancing, it was shot in black and white celluloid and only 90 seconds long. Before we went in we had bowls of pumpkin soup amongst groups of film makers
and slightly dishevelled men
who looked as if they might be chatting about Sartre with their intellectual girlfriends
and for five minutes Mami was dressed like a film star and drinking delicious local wine
It was an exhilarating way to end our holiday. The film was well received and is going to be shown again at festivals in Barcelona and California
and perched on rocks are impressive ruins of castles
In the evening we went to the film festival that was being held in old railway station. The film Alberto was showing is about Mami's dancing, it was shot in black and white celluloid and only 90 seconds long. Before we went in we had bowls of pumpkin soup amongst groups of film makers
who looked as if they might be chatting about Sartre with their intellectual girlfriends
and for five minutes Mami was dressed like a film star and drinking delicious local wine
It was an exhilarating way to end our holiday. The film was well received and is going to be shown again at festivals in Barcelona and California
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