It’s hard to believe it took me this long to post a photo from one of my trips to Italy. I had to dig back through the old point and shoot days to find this image.
Back in 2005, I spent three months living in Rome and traveling around Italy. I was working towards my Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Washington in Italian Studies and was there as part of the Italian Studies in Rome Program. All of the students lived with different families around the city and we attended classes at UW’s Rome Center in Campo dei Fiori, right in the heart of Rome. It was during this time that my passion for photography really began blossoming. I spent many afternoons alone, wandering the streets of Rome with my camera in search of interesting sights. Of course, as anyone who has been to Rome knows, you don’t have to go far to find the remarkable.
But during those three months, I was not limited to just the marvels of the Eternal City. Our class took a few trips to other parts of Italy. On one such trip we went to the region of Umbria and visited numerous towns — Perugia, Assisi, and Montefalco to name a few. One afternoon we were lucky enough to visit three castles just outside of Perugia. This one was under renovation and was owned by a very friendly count, Beppe. Il conte graciously showed us around his beautiful castello, including the cellar. I waited until everyone had gone upstairs, kicking up dust as they went, to snap this somewhat haunting photo.
I’ve been back to Italy a few times since, but not for as long of a stay. Someday, I hope I am fortunate enough to enjoy another extended visit. But until then, I will just have to keep digging up these old photos to remind me of what I’m missing.
I love Italy – I very much enjoyed your article. I’ve been to Italy a few times, once for about 5 weeks – that was the longest stay. I’d like to go back for a longer stay some day. I spent a few days in Assisi, actually stayed twice for a few days – it’s a beautiful area.