Tag Archives: Italy

ITALY 2025

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The textures and colors of Italy have made it one of my favourite painting locations. We spent a few days in Florence before heading off to Tenuta di Sticciano, between Florence and San Gimignano, for an 8 day painting retreat. I had a small, enthusiastic group of artists, a spacious studio and beautiful surroundings right in the middle of some of the best Tuscan villages and landscapes.

Early morning light on the Ponte Vecchio is one of the treats of Florence

Florence Cathedral built in the 14th century without power tools, cranes, laser levels or computers – just a lot of hard working, skilled craftsmen with a hundred years to get the job done.

Plain air painting at Tenuta di Sticciano

Our chef spoiled us with some fantastic traditional wood fired Pizzas

The painting studio at Tenuta di Sticciano was a great room. It was good to be able to display everyones work on the last day and enjoy what we had achieved with a glass of local wine.

Beautiful Tuscan sunsets from our accommodation…

…and some heavy Tuscan fogs before the sun rose.

Hats off to Tori who managed to swim laps every morning – undaunted by fog and low temperatures!

We visited a number of wonderful Medieval Tuscan villages, sketching and taking photographs which formed the basis for our paintings back in the studio.

Always lots of geraniums.

San Gimignano – Amazing textures, wonderful earthy colors and the worlds best Gelato’s

Beautiful brick and stone wall in Castellina in Chianti

We couldn’t have a painting retreat in Italy without including a red Vespa.

After the retreat in Tuscany Dianne and I caught the fast train to Rome. We made our way slowly through the Vatican Museum and enjoyed wandering around the city for three days.

From Rome we headed up to the hill town of Cortona. The town’s history goes back to Etruscan times and it’s location, on top of a steep hill surrounded by flat plains is spectacular. The highest point in the town is dominated by a Medici Fort which is now a series of galleries presenting some fantastic photographic exhibitions.

View of the only level street in Cortona from our apartment window.

Breakfast with a view across the plains to distant mountains was amazing.

Not far from Cortona by train is the city of Arezzo – full of narrow winding streets and in the Piazza Crande is the impressive 12th Century church, Santa Maria della Pieve

Our stay in Italy was over way too quickly. Europe to Australia without a stop over is not a pleasant trip. We arrived back in Brisbane airport full of great memories but feeling like exhausted zombies.

CINQUE TERRE

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A week in Cinque Terre is a great introduction to an Italian workshop. Great food and wine, beautiful scenery and friendly people. We spent our days moving between the villages painting and sketching. Villa Adriana, where we stayed for the week, provided excellent meals – although Antipasto, Pasta, Main and Dessert were more than most of us could handle!

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309Manarola – buildings by the sea

310Amanda – Watching Chickens

dsc00029Painting in Riomaggiore

© John Lovett 2016

What I thought was an ideal place to paint in Riomaggiore turned out to be the only place wide enough for delivery vans to turn around, so lots of juggling easels in between washes.

ital7820 Old Town – Monterosso

© John Lovett 2016Monterosso – Small truck pees on sidewalk.

© John Lovett 2016Fishing Boats – Monterosso

ital7875Manarola – from the water

ital7996Very Italian – National Park sign advising against stilettos for the walk between Monterosso and Vernazza.

© John Lovett 2016Cliffs near Monterosso

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Blue Umbrellas – Vernazza

ital7945 Vernazza before sunrise.

ital7976Between Vernazza and Monterosso someone has set up a feeding bay and shelter for stray cats. This guy hung around behind a mesh fence for a pat and a handful of dry cat food.

306Small bridge on path between Vernazza and Monterosso

ital8002Old Town – Monterosso

TOWNS AND VILLAGES

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The towns and villages of Puglia are similar in style to the villages of Northern Italy, but the earthier colored sandstone and marble is replaced by lighter, often whitewashed surfaces. The most obviously different architecture is found around the town of Alberobello in the Itria Valley.

ital7575Martina Franca – a labyrinth of pale marble and white walls.

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ital7579Main Square – Martina Franca

ital7558Dry stone walled and conical roofed Trulli buildings of the Itria Valley

ital7420Immaculate old Fiat.

ital7404Trulli houses, Alberobello.

ital7386Well worn stairs – Alberobello

ital7542Rain in Lecce

ital7545Lecce Piazza

ital7759Cruising the hills around Pisa in a Fiat 500 driven like a Ferrari – What a lot of fun.

ital7661Barga – back street bikers

ital7682Herbs and spices and a blue Vespa.

© John Lovett 2016Barga Rooftops

ital7733Retired Fiat Fire Truck

ital7738ital7813Down the mountain to Monterosso

 

 

PUGLIA, ITALY

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Our workshop in Cinque Terre doesn’t start for 10 days, so we flew from Rome to Brindisi then caught a train along the east coast to Polignano where we met up with Amanda and Gordon for a week by the Adriatic.

ital6812 ital6830 I guess some people have trouble remembering which door to drive through and which door to walk through

ital6850 ital6855 ital6875 Our balcony in Polignano – Balmy breezes, local meats and vegetables, Birra Moretti and Limoncello.

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Polignano is built on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Adriatic

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We were luck enough to coincide our visit with the Red Bull world Cliff Diving Championships. These towers are almost 30metres above the sea.

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Competitors jump from the towers, perform a series of twists and somersaults to slow their decent, then land feet first in the water at over 80 kph.

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Water entry can shatter bones and damage organs if not done correctly, so there were a lot more spectators than competitors.

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Fishing Village just out of town

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Small black snake catches a lizard

ital7335 Cave opening to the sea 100 meters inland.

 

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Polignano Cats

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TUSCANY, CINQUE TERRE, CHIANTI

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A few days in a villa outside San Gimignano exploring the countryside and villages is a great prelude to a painting workshop.

Amanda and Gordon, our tour guides for the workshop, chauffeured us through the vineyards and olive groves of Tuscany, exploring the countryside to discover the best painting destinations, vineyards and restaurants.

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Early morning in the vineyards surrounding San Gimignano.

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Cinque Terre Coastline from Montorosso

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Painting in Riomaggiore

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Regular critique sessions were a lot of fun in the Hotel Courtyard.

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Dry flowers on a San Gimignano window sill.

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Washing Day – San Gimignano

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San Gimignano as the sun rises

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Old lady carries flowers to one of the Saints in San Gimignano

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Early morning mist in the valleys

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Two Cats – San Gimignano

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San Gimignano before bus loads of visitors arrive.

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A rare event – these little things run for years on a tank of fuel.

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A window in Castellina in Chianti.

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Religious ceremony in Montorosso.

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Spectacular mountains between Pisa and Cinque Terre.

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Castello Di Meleto in Chianti – our home for the second week of the workshop.

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Castello Di Meleto

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Great views of the Chianti countryside from Castello Di Meleto.

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Our one shower of rain for the entire workshop as we head to the castle cellars for a wine tasting and tour of the castle.

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Strange leftovers from the 12th century still dangle from walls in the bowels of Castello Di Meleto

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A happy man with a nice bottle of Chianti Classico from the castle vineyards.

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Fine Dining at Castello Di Meleto

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In Florence, a small yellow car the width of a refrigerator.

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Leonardo da Vinci’s attempt to breathe under water.

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Descendants of  Michelangelo and Leonardo still decorate the walls of Florence.

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Large flocks of Vespers gather in the back streets of Florence.

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In Florence you can hold up your trousers with a Real Python for just 25 Euro

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Pigeons fight for crumbs outside the Uffizi

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Botticelli clouds drift over Florence

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Two streets meet in the small town of Greve in Chianti

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Castello Di Meleto vineyards

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Castellina in Chianti

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Castello Di Meleto’s pool disappears into the Chianti hills.

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Souvenirs – Florence

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Markets – Florence

VENICE WORKSHOP

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Venice has to be one of  the most spectacular painting destinations in Italy. Standing on Rialto bridge and looking down the Grand Canal feels more like watching a bizarre movie than experiencing a thriving city.

We arrived in the afternoon and were rapidly transported to our hotel by water taxi.

Leaving Marco Polo Airport by water taxi is a chaotic experience. 110 Euro from the airport to the city means the drivers are pretty serious about getting the job done quickly.

Churning through the back alleys en route to Accademia Bridge

Painting on the grand canal.

Early morning along the canals

The last gondola workshop in Venice was just around the corner from our hotel … and right opposite a great little bar.

Everything is delivered by barges along the canals

A late afternoon storm blackened the sky behind Santa Maria della Salute making for some great photos.

Evening drinks along the waterfront

Interpreti Veneziana were performing at the San Vidal Church, 5 minutes from our hotel. Italian Baroque played with passion and enthusiasm – a fantastic night.

Burano Houses

Burano is famous for its lace making, but I think this guy is mending a fishing net.

CEFALU

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Tucked under an enormous rock outcrop on the North coast of Sicily, the small town of Cefalu is dominated by its impressive Norman cathedral.

The old town has a wonderful, busy character and it’s maze of streets and alleys are fun to explore.

The town wraps around some attractive, sheltered beaches and has a fleet of small wooden fishing boats providing fresh fish for the local restaurants.

We managed to find some great painting locations tucked into out-of-the-way alleys.

Up until 20 years ago, these old Roman wash tubs were still in use. An endless supply of clean, spring water flushes through them and out to sea. The luxury of electricity and white goods has relegated them to a tourist attraction.

Electric wiring in Cefalu is an incredibly confusing tangle of cables, strung haphazardly from building to building.

Little wonder the locals puzzle over electricity bills.

In the centre of town, the huge Norman cathedral is an impressive structure. Interior decoration is fairly schizophrenic,  having chopped and changed over the centuries according to religious preference, politics and fashion

Young people in Cefalu have the same crazy desire to push a vesper to the edge of suicidal self destruction as is found in most of Italy.

Parking under religious icons guarantees safety here too!

Our Hotel was perched above the bay on the opposite side of the rock to the town. This path led down to a terrace, swimming pool and small beach. It made a comfortable, shady spot to paint some old buildings and garden walls attached to the hotel.

We found this poor fellow sound asleep on a bench at a small beach resort out of Palermo. He was a bit confused when he woke up and found 20 people spread around him with easels and paint boxes.

Mondello waterfront – Sicily