Photo Gallery: Bella Italia (Beautiful Italy)

I was fortunate to be stationed in Naples, Italy, November 1989 to January 1993, attached to NATO Southern Forces during my Navy career. This assignment was not only the high point of my Navy career, it was one of the high points of my entire life. For those three-plus years I had the opportunity to work side-by-side with the Italian, British, and Turkish militaries, and travel around southern and central-western Europe. I also traveled extensively throughout Italy and Sicily. I always traveled with my Nikon 8008 35mm camera.

Around 1998 I had 100 of my negatives scanned into digital images. This was an early application of the emerging digital imaging technology. At that time it was an expensive process, so 100 images were my financial limit. I attempted to pick the 100 photos out of several albums of negatives that I thought represented my best work. I’ve posted almost all here in this gallery. At some point in the (hopefully) not-distant future I’ll have more of these images digitally scanned.

35mm Scanned Images

An ancient stone building tucked against a n earthen wall with columns lining a walkway to the front door. There is grass on one side of the walkway. Over the facade is an arched bridge structure. — Ancient Roman ruins of Herculaneum
A view of the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Herculaneum. Buried in 79AD along with Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted. Only part of this site has been excavated as a large part is under the present-day town of Ercolono.

looking down on a scale model of a village composed of whitewashed stone houses with cone-shaped roofs. — A miniature model of the town of Alberobello
One of my favorite towns in Italy. The town of Alberobello is composed of unique mushroom-looking trulli houses, known for their conical, dry-stone roofs

a view of a greek-style temple standing alone in an open field. — An ancient Greek temple at Paestum
The Second Temple of Hera, also mistakenly known in the past as the Temple of Poseidon, located in the archeological site of Paestum. Once a Greek city called Poseidonia, this is one of three surviving Greek temples.

A Roman Aqueduct spanning an open fam field — A Roman Aqueduct
The remains of the Roman Aqueduct of Minturnae, located in Minturno. Built between the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Empire, the aqueduct carried water from a spring at the foot of the Aurunci Mountains to the ancient city of Minturnae, which was strategically located along the Via Appia.

A view of St. Peter's Basilica, with the main plaza of Vatican City in the foreground — St. Peter's Basilica
Looking at St. Peter's Basilica across St. Peter's Square, the main public plaza of the independent city-state of the Vatican.

A series of ornate stone columns with connecting top stones arranged as a temple. — The First Temple of Hera in Paestum
A view of the The First Temple of Hera in Paestum. This is classed as an archaic Doric temple, built around 550 BCE in the ancient Greek colony of Poseidonia, now called Paestum. Located south of Naples along the coast.

A young woman standing in the doorway of a Panificio next to a man standing in the doorway of a Macelleria, with shops on a steep hill and cobblestone roadway in front. — Shopkeepers of Naples
A young woman standing in the doorway of a Panificio (bakery) next to a man standing in the doorway of a Macelleria (butcher shop). Photo created in Naples

An ancient stone mausoleum on top of a stone structure — Virgil's Tomb in Parco Vergiliano, Naples
A Roman-era monument said to be the burial place of the celebrated Roman poet Virgil (70–19 BCE). Located near near the entrance to the Crypta Neapolitana, an ancient Roman tunnel.

A pair of hands creating a small oval piece of carved shell — A Cameo Artisan of Naples
Cameo jewelry from Naples, primarily produced in the nearby town of Torre del Greco, is a historic art form featuring hand-carved shells or coral set in gold or silver.

A tall medieval building topped with a tower on one corner standing alone at top of a hill. — The Government Building of the Republic of San Marino
Palazzo Pubblico in the City of San Marino, which serves as the official government building and town hall for the Republic of San Marino. San Marino is an independent "city-state" republic within Italy.

an ornate stone balcony with doorway in the stone wall behind it. — The Balcony of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Juliet's balcony in Verona, famously linked to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The balcony is part of the building known as La Casa di Giulietta, or the House of Juliet. The house,was built in the 12th century, purchased by the City of Verona in 1905, and the balcony added later in the 20th century.

Decorative boats powered by oars on a canal of Venice, — Regata Storica (Historical Regatta) taking place on the Grand Canal in Venice
Beautiful dragon boats taking part in the Regata Storica (Historical Regatta) on the Grand Canal of Venice. This event, known as "Voga alla Veneta," has a tradition in the Venetian lagoon for hundreds of years.

heavy castle stone walls with a rounded corner, and a marketplace on the street level — Medi Castel Nuovo in Naples
Street life at the base of outside the Castel Nuovo, also known as the Maschio Angioino, in Naples. This is a historic medi and Renaissance castle located in front of the Piazza Municipio, at the waterfront district.

A ornate facade of a basilica, with gold decorations and topped with multiple onion-dome minarets — Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice
The exterior of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, located in the heart of Piazza San Marco.

a flower vendor with his cart, selling flowers and fruit on a city street. — A Street Vendor in Naples
A street vendor in the central old-town area of Naples, selling his flowers and fruits.

An ancient cobblestone road with three stone columns connected by a top stone with ruins of ancient building behind the columns — The Provision market of Pompeii
The ruins of the Macellum (provision market) located in the Forum of ancient Pompeii. The Macellum was once a central focal point for political, economic, and religious life of this city.

An ancient cobblestone roadway lined with broken columns and walls — The Main Thoroughfare of Pompeii
A view of what was once the main road leading into Pompeii.

A view of an open site with broken columns, framed by two columns in the foreground. Mt Vesuvius is in the background. — Pompeii, with Mount Vesuvius visible in the Background
A view of the Forum of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Once the heart of the city's civic and commercial life.

a scene of plaster figures in the shape of people, lying on a dirt floor behind a viewing glass. — Plaster casts of Pompeii
When Pompeii was buried by volcanic ash from the 79AD Mount Vesuvius eruption, many townspeople were buried alike. The bodies eventually decayed, but left hollows in the now-hardened ash. During archeological excavations, scientists are able to identify these hollows, and fill them with plaster, showing the final moments of those victims.

A curved fresco-covered stone wall with seating ledge and a deeper pool in the middle of the room. — The frigidarium of Herculaneum
The frigidarium, or cold plunge pool, in the men's thermal baths at the archaeological site of Herculaneum.

Return to Photo Travelogues Homepage

Note: All photos taken with a Nikon 8008 35mm camera using color negative film. Images later transferred to digital media.

A Study of Stonehenge : Ron’s photo study of the ancient construction of Stonehenge, on the Salisbury Plains of England.
Springtime in Paris : A photo essay of the city of Paris, France.
This and That, German Holiday Edition : A travelogue of a vacation trip to Germany and Italy.

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Bella Italia

35mm Scanned Images

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