Why Italy?

Doug Porter's photos and tales of Italy are the next best thing to being in Italy. Scroll down to begin the journey.

Sicily

Bar Vitelli, Savoca, Sicily

I first travelled to Sicily in 2006, and an immediate love affair was hatched. So much about Sicily captures my passion—the antiquity, the food, the people, the sense of family, the love of life—I could go on and on.

The many thousands of photos I have taken reflect Italy as I visualize it (tra i miei occhi), not as a literal recording of a scene but a more romantic look .The photos I take are my ‘sketches’ on which I build the scene that I envisage, be it by replicating antique frescoes, monochromatic images or by enhancing the beauty.

Sicily is very special to me, as it was my first encounter with this amazing land and represents the way Italy was many years ago.  The diversity of the culture is shown in the architecture and the food throughout, the Sicilians too are always warm and welcoming.

Hilltop villages such as Erice, Enna and Savoca, in many ways, remain suspended in time - these villages offer many beautiful photographic opportunities.

Wandering in the back streets I sometimes find myself overwhelmed by the textures and antiquity of the old buildings - faded paintwork on doors and windows, cracked and eroded stonework, rusted iron work – it is these textures, colours and the light that compel me to take photos.

Caltagirone

Cefalu

Duomo - Cefalu

Sicilian Countryside

Gioiosa Sicily

Cefalu

Taormina

Of course there are many other wonderful sights to be found in places such as Ortigia, Cefalu, Monreale - the temples, Roman and Greek theaters in Segesta, Agrigento and Selenunte - the list goes on. 

Not to be forgotten though is the natural beauty of the coastal regions around Sicily - stunningly beautiful with crystal clear waters.

Still In the South of Italy, my travels have taken me through the stunning cliffside town of Tropea - a photographers paradise and The Amalfi Coast is an absolute must-see!

The Ligurian coast offers up such photographic gems as the Cinque Terre - with the iconic five lands of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. You have to walk the entire length of the Cinque Terre  to really appreciate the beauty and unique nature of this World Heritage site.

The major cities are different but special again, all with their own unique character.

Calabria

Tropea

Badolato

The Amalfi Coast

Venice

Venice - Amazingly unique, to truly experience Venice you need to get away from the tourist areas and wander through the myriad of tiny streets, criss crossing canals on ancient bridges - photographic opportunities at every corner. You'll find all those secret places in Venice in our guide.

Florence

Florence - a wonderous city of beauty, sophistication and art - and a magic that is hard to put into words but will keep you coming back. It's also a shopping paradise.

Rome

Rome ' la citta eterna ' - agonisingly chaotic at times but with some of the most wonderful sites you will ever behold from the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Pantheon, the grand Piazzas to the awe inspiring St Peters Basillica.  As I look back over my final images, I find that I get an overwhelming sense of  place, recalling memories of time spent, of meals, wine and laughter shared.

My aim is to share these images with others as art prints in the hope that for them also it will conjure up memories of wonderful places, people and the dolce vita of Italy.

The ‘Fresco’ and ‘An Era’ series can currently be viewed at http://www.frescoimages.com. The website will shortly be updated with the newer imagery however examples can be viewed on Facebook ‘Fresco Images’.  For more information regarding purchase or information about the images please contact doug@frescoimages.com

For more of Dougs photos click here.