In Brescia (a photo gallery)

October 10, 2018

I came to Brescia knowing even less about it than I thought I did. I don’t think I even knew it was a city until I started looking at possible routes between the Dolomites and the Lake District and saw it on the map. Once I saw it, I assumed that it was the name origin for a type of rock I recalled from my college geology class: breccia. They sure look similar, but are unrelated. They aren’t even pronounced the same.

In fact, Brescia is an important city. According to the Wikipedia article, it is the fourth largest city in northwest Italy (after Milan, Turin, and Genoa I suppose), and is considered the industrial capital of Italy. It is a city with a deep history, having been founded in pre-Roman times about 3,200 years ago.

We almost didn’t come to Brescia at all, and only landed here because it logistically worked well for us. Once we were here though, we were surprised by all the attractions it had to offer. like Cremona, Brescia would be a fine place for a multi-day stay. And, like Cremona, it doesn’t seem to be buried in mass tourism. It’s a comfortable, accessible working city with a lot of worthwhile attractions. We really just got started here.

One thing especially impressed me about the city: its three large plazas, all close together in or adjacent to the old city, all noteworthy in different ways. As an American, it makes me envious. I can’t think offhand of any of our cities that has a plaza as welcoming and full of character as any of these three.

The facade of the new cathedral, and Piazza Paolo VI

The dome and facade of the new cathedral

Piazza della Loggia, created under the Venetian Republic

These bruisers have been hammering out the hours for over five hundred years.

The modernist Piazza della Vittorio, opened in 1932. At the far end is the post office

This is one of a set of intriguing sculptures by Mimmo Paladino, a sculptor we recalled from our first bike tour of Europe - he had a solo exhibit on the roof of Forte Belvedere in Florence at the time that greatly intrigued us.

Another Paladino creation. Note the tiny impaled head, which is typical - many of his works have a somewhat morbid or grotesque aspect.

And another. I’m not clear whether these are permanently placed here, or are connected to a larger exhibition of his work here that closed last month.

Another reflectie for the October Cycle 365 challenge

The post office and a Paladino creation, Piazza della Vittoria

Another detail from our elegant dinner here: a complementary meringue desert came encased in this beautiful egg.

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Steve Miller/GrampiesScott, I was just noticing again just how sharp and well contrasted your photos generally are. Compared to many another blog, they are one or more steps above, and that is not even to mention the great choice of subjects (except the need for more food and cows!) and the compositions.

Can you remind again about what camera you are using? I seem to recall that I originally thought it too costly and heavy, for me anyway. But, the shots are so great!...
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5 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks for the kind comments Steve, as well as the constructive criticism. We’ll get right on that cow/chow deficit.

The camera is an LX10, also known as an LX15. I’m not sure why it’s branded both ways, but it’s the same beast. I’ve been using the LX pocketable cameras for years, upgrading them when they wear out or I conspire to ruin one so Rachael will let me replace it. Each generation is better than the one that came before it. I forget when I upgraded to this one, but I think last spring. Before that, I used an LX7, probably for most of the journals I first published on CGOAB.

I think it would be hard to improve on for a bike touring camera. It’s really quite light, though obviously not like a phone. It fits easily in my bike jersey or trousers, so I pretty much always have it at hand. And, of course, it takes a decent shot. And a better photographer could even do more with it I’m sure - I’m pretty primitive, lazy and in too much of a hurry - it’s a very sophisticated camera, but I always use the auto function because its computer is so much smarter than I am; don’t use special lenses; never use a tripod; and I don’t tend to wait around for just the right conditions. I do though, work with the images on the iPad after extracting them - cropping, exposure/contrast adjustment.

And, it’s not cheap but not all that dear either - roughly 500 euros.
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5 years ago