Tag Archives: Italy

Encyclopedia of a world that does not exist

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, I have run across a number of versions of the weird and wonderful Codex Seraphinianus. Along with English and French edtions, I have also seen an original Italian version from 1981. It’s difficult to catagorize this fascinating surreal fictionalized … Continue reading →

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Venice, Violin, and Vivaldi

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

On Saturday tourists were treated to the spectacle of an enormous violin floating down the canals of Venice carrying a live string quartet. The cruising instrument, “Noah’s Violin,” was created by artist Livio De Marchi, as a way of “bringing a message … Continue reading →

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Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

An excerpt from If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino Translated by William Weaver So, then, you noticed in a newspaper that If on a winter’s night a traveler had appeared, the new book by Italo Calvino, who hadn’t published … Continue reading →

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Restoring Rome

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

During the past few weeks, I have been pondering a story from the news about a project to restore parts of the ancient Roman Colosseum and open those areas to tourists. The story claimed that for the first time ever, … Continue reading →

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Soon the city fades before your eyes…

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

When you have arrived at Phyllis, you rejoice in observing all the bridges over the canals, each different from the others: cambered, covered, on pillars, on barges, suspended, with tracery balustrades. And what a variety of windows looks down on … Continue reading →

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Strolling Cities

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Strolling Cities is a trippy project by Italian artist, designer and researcher, Mauro Martino,  that uses AI to generate visual poetry. The AI model trained with millions of photos of nine Italian cities (Milan, Como, Bergamo, Venice, Genoa, Rome, Catania, … Continue reading →

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When In Rome

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Rome over the last few days because of the news that a new archeological site will be opening in the coming year in the heart of the Eternal City. If you haven’t heard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Travel, Architecture, Art, Europe, Film, History, Museums, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Worldwide Live

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

When I have felt especially claustrophobic during the Pandemic lockdown, I have checked out some of the amazing live camera feeds from around the globe. Recently, I found the wonderful Rolling Cam World on Youtube and I think that I’m … Continue reading →

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Handle Without Care

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

These days, it’s sometimes difficult to tell if you are seeing an actual advertisement or something from The Onion. In this case, an Italian company called Crash Baggage is promoting a new line of suitcases that look like they’ve been … Continue reading →

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When In Rome

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Whenever I travel to Rome or Athens, I always visit ancient ruins and archeological sites. But it can be a bit of a stretch to try and picture what the buildings original looked like and how they were used.  New … Continue reading →

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