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The Leather School at Santa Croce - Firenze, Italy

A Leather craftsman working on a strap for a bag - Firenze, Italy 

The Leather school at the church of Santa Croce (Scuola del Cuoio) in Firenze was started off by franciscan monks and the Gori and Casini families with the aim of giving orphans of World War II an opportunity to learn a trade from which to earn a living. The leather school has now expanded and is now a well known Florentine trading house and leather shop.

More info and images after the jump.

Engraving tools used by Leather craftsmen - Firenze, Italy

Historically, a number of industries which require large quantities of water have been based in the Santa Croce neighbourhood due to its proximity to the banks of the river Arno. These industries included tanneries, dyers and soap makers.

The growing demand for hand crafter leather goods saw the school opening it's doors to clients in 1950. The U.S. Airforce and the American embassies in Europe were amongst the schools first customers. The popularity of the schools products led to President Dwight Eisenhower using a desk which was hand crafted at Scuola del Cuoio in the oval office.

A Leather craftsman engraves a handbag - Firenze, Italy

We visited the Leather shop and factory after walking around the church of Santa Croce (pics in a future post). I spent some time wondering around the factory and having a look at how the craftsmen work (and take some photographs while I was at it). My wife looked through the factory and quite unsurprisingly,  found a bag she wanted to get. The image above is of a craftsmen engraving her initials on it.

A Leather craftsman's tools - Firenze, Italy

The counters where the craftsmen worked were very well lit but the rest of the factory was about two or three stops darker. From a photographic point of view, this was exactly what I was after. I was able to take a number of photographs where the main subject (both craftsmen and tools) was very well lit and the background was slightly darker. This ensured that there were no distractions in the frame while the underexposed background gave the image a context (the first image on this post in particular). I also didn't have my flash and shoot through umbrella with me at the time and, to be honest, I doubt I would have been able to setup any lights for photographs.

All images on this post were captured with the Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens.

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The Chimera of Notre Dame

One of the Chimera of Notre Dame - Paris, France 

Chimera are grotesque mythical figures which have been made from the body parts of a mixture of animals.  Most often they were a mix of Monkeys, Goats, Wolves and Eagles. A number of churches built in the Medieval period feature Chimeras and out of these, Notre Dame is probably the most famous. They were added to the Galerie des Chimères during the restoration of the cathedral in 1845.

More images and info after the jump.

One of the Chimera of Notre Dame - Paris, France

The Chimera, unlike the more famous Gargoyles, serve no purpose and are only used for decoration. The Gargoyles on the other hand, are actually used to disguise gutters which drain rain water off the cathedral. They stick out of the facade of the building in order to ensure that the water is moved far away from the walls with the aim of minimising damage.

One of the Chimera of Notre Dame - Paris, France

The climb to the top of the tower isn't tough as you are forced to take a break half way up. Due to the confined space at the top and along the Galerie des Chimères, climbers have to wait until the previous group has moved on before they can continue. The last stage of the climb is along a spiral stairway which leads you to the top of the south tower. The steps are stone and worn in the middle from the thousands of people who have climbed it over the centuries. Not a good place for claustrophobic people!

These shots were taken with a Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens.

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Stohrer - A 300 year old patisserie

Macaroons at Stohrer - Paris, France 

A few days into the Paris leg of our trip we visited a patisserie named Stohrer. It was conveniently located five minutes away from where we stayed and we ended up visiting it quite frequently! The patisserie was opened by Nicolas Stohr, one of King Louis the XV's pastry chefs, in 1730.  The shop itself has not moved for 300 years.

Read on for more info and images after the jump.

More snacks at Stohrer - Paris, France

We pretty much wanted to try everything in the store and I'm almost certain we came close. Most evenings we would stop by the patisserie on the way back to the apartment and pick up a selection of pastries. The eclairs and macaroons (pictured above), in particular, were amazing.

Ham on the bone at Stohrer - Paris, France

The facade and the interiors make the store a historical monument in itself as it is decorated with murals. These designs were created in 1860 by a painter named Paul Baudry who also painted the decorations in the grand foyer of Opera de Paris.

Window display at Stohrer - Paris, France

Some of the items on the menu are still made using moulds from the 19th Century.

Stohrer - Paris, France

These images were taken with the canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens.

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The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

The Colosseum - Rome, Italy 

The famous Flavian amphitheatre is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Situated in the centre of Rome, it is a "must see" for most tourists. We visited the Colosseum on a walking tour which also included the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. The tour itself was not very good but we did get an opportunity to walk around the Colosseum on our own at the end.

Read on for more info.

The Colosseum photographed from the Forum - Rome, Italy

The building was started by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian. The Colosseum was used to hold gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, executions and re-enactments of battles. It was later used for housing, workshops and even a christian shrine. The tiers of the Colosseum were able to seat 50,000 spectators around the arena.

Inside the Colosseum - Rome, Italy

Below the wooden floor of the arena was a complex network of rooms, passageways and lifts used to move wild animals from their cages into the arena. The walls which support tiers of seats, passageways and stairways radiate out from the arena. Three tiers of arcades ring the outer edge of the building linking numerous stairways and facilitating the efficient movement of a large number of people. A canopy was suspended form the roof to provide shade. 

Exterior of the Colosseum - Rome, Italy

The arches on the ground floor were numbered to allow easy access to seats (some of the number are still visible). Boxes were provided on the North and South sides of the arena for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins (these were the best seats). Flanking these boxes was reserved seating for the Senators. Some of their names can still be seen carved into the stone. The level above this was occupied by the non senatorial noble class. Ordinary Roman citizens occupied next level up. This level was further divided into two sections for the wealthy and the poor. Gravediggers, actors and former gladiators were banned from the Colosseum.

The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

Outside the amphitheatre stood the Colossus of Nero, a giant bronze statue measuring 30m in height. After the death of Nero the statue was modified to depict the sun god. The statue was last mentioned in the 4th century and only the foundations of the pedestal exist today. It may have been destroyed during the sack of Rome in 410 or in one of the earthquakes that occurred during the 5th century.  

The Colosseum - Rome, Italy

These images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens. A tripod was used for all the night shots and a circular polariser was used for the others. It was a bit difficult to get a clear shot of the building in the night with cars driving past so I decided to include them in the frame.

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Notre Dame de Paris - Exterirors

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France 

Notre Dame de Paris, French for Our Lady of Paris, is one of the "must see" cathedrals of Paris and, conveniently for us, was located a few hundred meters from our apartment in Le Marais. It is the cathedral of the catholic archdiocese of Paris and is located on the eastern part of Ile de la Cite on  the Seine.

More info and images after the jump.

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France

The Notre Dame is famous for its French Gothic architecture and was one of the first buildings to feature flying buttresses, although interestingly, the original design for the building didn't include these. However, once construction began and the walls started growing higher, stress fractures appeared and as a result, the walls pushed outwards. The flying buttresses were then introduced to provide additional support.

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France

The Cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Maurice de Sully and construction began in 1163, during the reign of Louis VII. It took nearly 200 years to build and was completed in 1345. Over the construction period, work was overseen by numerous architects and this is evidenced by differing styles which can be seen at various heights.

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France

During the reigns of King Louis XIV and Louis XV at the end of the 17th century, major alterations were made to the cathedral in an attempt to modernise it. Stained glass windows and tombs were destroyed but fortunately, the magnificent north and south facing Rose windows remained intact.  The cathedral was once scheduled for demolition but was saved because of the popularity of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre-Dame and a revival of interest in the Gothic period.

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France

The exterior stone walls of the cathedral were not always the creamy white they are now. Over time, dirt and grime had built up on the stone walls and they were black until very recently. A new technique for cleaning stone, employing lasers, was used to clean the entire cathedral except for the spire. It was decided to leave the spire as it is in order to show visitors what the cathedral looked like before it was cleaned.

Notre-Dame de Paris - Paris, France

As with most photographs on this trip, these were captured with the Canon 7D and 24-105mm combo. I also used a tripod for all the night shots.

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The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

It's hard to get to Paris and not catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower while walking around the city and since Paris is the city of lights, you have to see it lit up. We caught the metro to Trocadero one evening and wondered around the Eiffel tower for about an hour and a half before walking back towards Notre Dame along the Seine.

Read on for more images and info.

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

We climbed up the Tower quite early in the evening on an overcast day. The views from the top were amazing and I'll upload them in a future post. The second floor of the tower is occupied by the Michelin starred Jules Verne restaurant. Getting a table here is always tough as it is usually booked out for a couple of months. We made a reservation when we got to Paris and were put on the waiting list. Since our chances were slim, we made plans to go off to Montmartre on the day. As luck would have it we got a call as we were walking out of the apartment, informing us that we had a table. Since we had other plans for the day, we couldn't make it but it's something for us to do next time.

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance for the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. The tower was named after it's designer, an engineer named Gustave Eiffel. A three hundred strong workforce used 18,038 pieces of iron and two and a half million rivets to build the tower. Although building the tower was risky, due to the fact that it was an open structure and had not intermediate floors, only one worker lost his life. In order to reduce the chance of an accident Eiffel took precautions such as movable staging, guard rails and screens.

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

The tower was criticised by the public and it was labelled an eyesore with several prominent figures, including Guy du Maupassant and Alexandre Dumas, expressing their displeasure. 

Zoning restrictions in Paris limit the height of buildings to 7 stories but Eiffel got a permit for the Tower and it was supposed to stand for 20 years and be dismantled in 1909. However, when the ownership of the tower was handed back to the city of Paris, it was not dismantled as it was valuable for communication purposes. The tower is now the most visited paid monument in the world.

The Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

All the images in this post were taken with the Canon 7D and 24-105mm combination. A tripod was used for all the night shots.

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Views of Firenze

Panoramic view of Firenze - Firenze, Italy (Click to view a larger version)

On our first evening in Firenze we decided to wonder up to Piazzale Michelangiolo, which was a comfortable 3 km walk from our hotel in Oltrano. When we got up to the piazza, at around 4.30 in the afternoon, it was packed with tourists and I had a to wait a while before I could get up to the wall and set up my tripod. I had a bit of time until the light changed, so I wasn't too fussed.

The Panorama above was a 23 image stitch. The Ponte Vecchio can be seen on the left hand corner of the image while the Duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is on the right. The tall bell tower in the centre of the image is Palazzo Vecchio.

Read on for more images and info.

The Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) - Firenze, Italy

The Duomo, which was built in 1296, is right in the middle of Florence and an image of it lit up at twilight and taken from Piazzale Micelangiolo was on my shot list. I ended up spending about 4.5 hours waiting for the light to change and as a result I've got a number of images of the Duomo in varying light conditions! This is one of my favourites as the Duomo really stands out while a bit of detail is visible in the background. The fact that the buildings around the Duomo are comparatively dark also helps isolate it. I will cover the Duomo and a bit of its history in a later post.

The Ponte Vecchio - Firenze, Italy

The Ponte Vecchio is one of the most famous landmarks in Firenze. It is a medieval bridge that spans the Arno at its narrowest point. The bridge is first mentioned in documents dated to 996. It is famous for having shops along both sides of it. These shops were initially occupied by butchers but they are now jewellery stores. The bridge that appears further downstream from the Ponte Vecchio is the Ponte Santa Trinita. I'll share more images of the Ponte Vecchio in a future post.

The Duomo & Santa Croce - Firenze, Italy

The image above is of Santa Croce and the Duomo. The Arno can also be seen in the foreground. The Basilica of Santa Croce is the main Franciscan church in Florence. It is also the burial place for a number of famous Italians including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. The church is home to a number of frescoes painted by Giotto and art works painted by Canova, Donatello and Vasari. The Franciscan friars also founded a leather school on the premises. The school / factory is still in operation and a store is open to visitors. More images of the leather factory and Santa Croce will be uploaded in future posts.

All these images were taken with a Canon 7D and a 24-105mm lens from Piazzale Michelangiolo.

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Venetian Masks

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy 

Masks have been worn in several cultures, going back thousands of years, but never with such pageantry as in Venice. Venetian masks date back to the 13th century when Venice was a republic with a population of around 150,000. Nowadays, Venetians and tourists only wear masks during Carnevale (Mardi Gras) but in the 13th century masks were worn on a daily basis to conceal peoples' identities.

Read on for more images and info

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

In the 13th century the Republic of Venice controlled several trade routes which extended beyond Constantinople. It also owned shipyards which were able to produce battleships in 30 days. This was possible because the shipyards employed 15,000 locals, a staggering 10% of the population. Apart from the shipyards, Venice also employed large work forces in other industries. Due to the high rate of employment Venetians were therefore wealthy and enjoyed a high standard of living.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

With time, some Venetians realised that by wearing masks, they were able to go about their daily lives and conduct certain business affairs in secrecy. They started making deals and agreements with other people, which, because of their hidden identity, did not fall within the gaze of the law.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

Masks also took social status out of the equation in peoples' dealings with each other. This prevented prejudice and allowed everyone to be treated as equals. Both citizens and officials visiting the city benefited from this as they were able to speak freely without fear of retribution and receive honest opinions.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

It didn't take long for people to start noticing the other "advantages" of remaining anonymous. Sexual promiscuity became common, women started flaunting their sexuality by wearing revealing clothing* and gambling was widespread throughout the day and night. Even those who had taken religious vows, such as monks and nuns, were tempted by and succumbed to the debauchery. In order to prevent complete moral decline, a decision was taken to ban masks altogether except on the days of Carnevale which was a time for fancy-dress parties and excessive celebrating.

A Venetian Mask - Venice, Italy

Masks are for sale at all souvenir shops and stalls around the main attractions, but a lot of them are of poor quality. You are sure to come across a number of shops dedicated entirely to authentic Venetian masks while wandering around the streets and alleys of Venice. We were lucky to walk into a store where the masks were being made and watched a lady painting and decorating a mask.

A lady making a mask - Venice, Italy

The images on this post were captured with either the Canon 7D or the Canon 400D with a 24-105mm lens or a 50mm lens.

* Source - http://www.eioba.com/a23168/the_history_of_the_venetian_mask

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Trastevere - Rome, Italy

An Evening in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

We visited Trastevere for dinner on one of our last evenings in Rome. The area is just south of the Vatican City and is now referred to as Rome's bohemian left bank. It is known for its vibrant street life. The tightly packed, decaying buildings and the cobbled streets give it an old world feeling. Apparently some of the older locals haven't been to the "other side" of the river for a number of years.

Read on for more images and info.

Alfresco dining in Trastevere - Rome, Italy 

The heart of Trastevere is Piazza di Santa Maria which is a pedestrianised cobblestone square. The square is named after the church "Santa Maria in Trastevere", one of the oldest churches in the city. It is famous for the mosaic of the Madonna and Child which can be seen above the entrance (image below) in a protective niche.

The Mosaic of the Madonna and Child at Santa Maria in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

Trastevere is home to a number of other churches as well as the Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens). The gardens include a sight and scent garden for the visually impaired. A number of important people, including Julius Ceasar, built their villas around here.

An artists work in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

The steps around the fountain in the middle of the square are a popular meeting point. Due to the fact that there is a crowd around the fountain, many artists try to sell their work in the area. The picture above shows the work of an artist who only uses can's of spray paint to create the "paintings" that can be seen around him. It took him about 10 minutes to create one of these. Since I used a long exposure the artist's movement has been captured in the frame.

A cobble stone street in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

The nightlife in Trastevere attracts the younger crowd and as a result, things stay open a lot later than usual. We went there for dinner on a week night and found the place buzzing well after midnight. 

Restaurants along piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

All the images in this post were captured with a Canon 7D and a Canon 24-105mm lens. A Tripod was used to capture all of these images.

A restaurant along a lane way in Trastevere - Rome, Italy

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St Paul's Cathedral - London

St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge - London

St Paul's Cathedral stands on Ludgate Hill, which is the highest point in the city of London. The Cathedral which stand's today is actually the fifth "St Paul's" which has been built on the same site. At 111m in height, it was London's tallest building until the 1960's. The funeral of Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill, jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria and the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana were all held here.

Read on for more images and info.

St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge - London

The photographs with Millennium Bridge in the foreground were taken from the opposite bank of the Thames, near the Globe Theatre (which will be covered in a future post). Unfortunately I was unable to photograph the interior of the church as photography is not allowed.

The current St Paul's was built by Sir Christopher Wren, who started designing it in 1668 and was inspired by St Peters Basilica in Rome. Although only one dome is visible, the structure consists of three domes. The inner dome provides the aesthetically pleasing interior. The outer dome serves no structural purpose but again, is good to look at. Between these two domes sits a third structural cone which supports the apex structure and the exterior dome. The stairs which lead to the top of the dome runs between them.

St Paul's Cathedral - London

The inner dome contains three galleries, The internal whispering gallery, The external stone gallery and the external golden gallery. The climb to the top is not the easiest, especially if you are claustrophobic, but the view from the top is worth it.

View from the top of St Paul's - London

The tombs of Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington can be found in the crypt. The crypt also serves as a chapel for the order of the British Empire and the Treasury. A number of valuable artefacts have been stored in the cathedral over the years but a robbery in 1810 took almost all of the remaining artefacts.        

St Paul's Cathedral - London

Getting to St Pauls is pretty easy as there is an underground station right near the church. We visited the area twice while we were in London. Firstly when we went to see the Cathedral and climb the dome adn secondly in the night when we went to the Globe to watch "A comedy of errors". after the performance we wondered around the opposite bank of the Thames and the cathedral taking photographs of it.  It was annoying to have to carry the tripod and camera with me throughout the evening but I'm quite happy with the photographs so I guess it was worth it.

St Paul's Cathedral from across the Thames - London

All the images in this post were captured with a Canon 7D and the 24-105mm lens. A Tripod was also used for the night shots, which were long exposures.