Photo Exhibit
More of the Bizarre…and Awesome Cults, Catacombs and Crypts
March 2024 | Diana Lucarino-Diekmann
I have a peculiar curiosity for death and the hereafter and a love of the peacefulness of cemeteries. So, on my travels, I have gravitated toward experiencing what most people think is bizarre, but I think is awesome.
The high altar of San...
The Capuchins and Their Crypts
February 2024 | Diana Lucarino-Diekmann
What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be
The Capuchins
They were first known as “Friars Minor of the hermetic life,” then later called Capuchins, which comes from the Latin word cappuccio or capuche, for the hood the Friars...
Altars
December 2023 | Diana Lucarino-Diekmann
The word altar comes from the Latin, altarium, meaning “high” and adolere, meaning “to ritually burn or sacrifice,” which suggests its original purpose was, as detailed in the Bible, sacrifice, adoration, and worship.
For Catholics, the Son of God...
Madonnelle
November 2023 | Diana Lucarino-Diekmann
Devotional imagery has long been a part of Roman tradition and placing a painting or statue of a deity at a crossroads, lare compita, was thought to protect passersby from demons that could come out at night.Madonnelle, or streets shrines, guard...
Vita di Paese: Autumn, Finally!
October 2023 | Marcello Mellino
Visiting Italy once autumn has arrived is usually a wonderful experience, as long as the weather remains cooperative. This is the time when the overwhelming masses of tourists begin to dwindle and it becomes so much easier to get around while...
Italia, My Way
September 2023 | Marcello Mellino
As I looked back to several years of my "Vita di paese" articles written for this publication, I selected a number of images worth publishing again, all of them reflective of an unusual Italian experience, such as the Pinocchio store (fig. 1) near...
Vita di Paese: Hidden Venezia
August 2023 | Marcello Mellino
Venezia remains my favorite place in the world, and, as I was recently looking back at some of the images from a prior trip, I again marveled at its beauty even when far away from the better-known historic locations.
Venezia is divided into six...
Incontri di Campagna
July 2023 | Marcello Mellino
It is still rather easy, as one wanders around in the Italian countryside, to run into all kinds of animals, mostly being kept by the farmers for agricultural or commercial purposes.
I have seen and photographed several breeds of cows (figs....
Venditori Ambulanti
June 2023 | Marcello Mellino
You might have noticed, whenever traveling throughout Italy, the ever-common presence of venditori ambulanti. These are the people trying to sell you anything imaginable as they frequently wander tourist areas offering often counterfeit and usually...