I spent the week of October 12-18 in Rome, on Tony Boccaccio’s Imaging inItaly course, a wonderful, fun experience that I heartily recommend to anyone wishing to improve photography skills OR, even if you’re not an experienced photographer, if you want to do something completely different in Rome – and bring home some amazing photographs of your very own.
NB: The tour when I did it was a week long, but Imaging in Italy now offers shorter sessions. Contact Tony for more information.
I was supposed to arrive Sunday afternoon for an introductory session and dinner. Upon reaching Lecco station at 6:30 am, I learned that there was a railway strike, and my train to Milan was two hours late – no chance of making the connection for the Eurostar from Milan to Rome. So I rebooked for the next day, arriving Monday at noon (which required waking up at 4:30 am). Two other course participants had been held up trying to get to Rome from Venezia, so the welcome dinner Sunday was postponed to a welcome lunch on Monday.
Day 1
I got to Hotel Alessandrino just in time for the end of a morning session on Visual Thinking. Then we all picked up our cameras (mine is a Nikon Coolpix 775 digital) and walked down to Saint Peter’s. Along the way, I grabbed this shot:
Piazza San Pietro was being decorated and filled with chairs for the Pope’s 25th anniversary bash. This was not a problem, as we wereavoiding standing in the middle of the circle and taking postcard shots. Instead, we first walked around the colonnade, looking for different ways of seeing and showing what we saw, with Tony offering suggestions, and taking pictures of us taking pictures. I was fascinated with architecture and geometry, so there was plenty to keep me busy.
We finally got our welcome lunch, at the Antica Taverna (via Monte Giordano 12). The antipasti were excellent, and, of the three pasta dishes we tried, my favorite were the orecchiette (“little ears”) with a sauce made from sweet bell peppers.
When we finally staggered away from the table, I accompanied my coursemates to the Spanish Steps, the Keats museum, and on other wanderings.
