Angel in the Duomo

Angel in the Duomo



This photo was shot in Florence at Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the repository of the original artwork of the nearby Duomo.

What is it about angels cast in stone? Wings spread, gazing benevolently? There's something oddly comforting about these frozen figures which capture me every time.

In the fall of 2001 I took my first trip to NYC. As my friend and I were walking through downtown we happened upon a church about a block away from the WTC site. High along the stone facings were a series of stone angels, heads bowed down, eyes gazing down at the pedestrians below. They had a posture and expression of such profound sorrow that I was literally overwhelmed. I stood frozen, tears welling in my eyes. The experience haunted me for days. One week later, the Twin Towers fell. Since moving here, I've yet to find that church again.

In the Cinque Terre

In the Cinque Terre

Candelbra in the Duomo

Florence: Candelbra in the Duomo

Florence: Renaissance horse tether

Fishing Boat

Fisherman launching into the Meditterean


The Cinque Terre is a series of small fishing villages which line the mediterrean coast along the Italian Riviera. It takes about a day to hike from one village to the other. Take the path which hugs the cliffside - the azure Mediterranean below, and above, terraced vineyards clinging to the the mountainside. The area is an odd combination. 50% old Italian fishermen clinging to their traditional ways and 50% tourists, mostly American, desiring to experience "authentic Italy". The juxtaposition creates an interesting us/them zoo-like dynamic. But at least for now, it's in that win-win situation where the tourist money revitalizes the local economy, and we travellers get a glimpe of a little-seen part of the world. Hopefully, it can remain relatively unspoilt.