Photos and the City

Category: Italia

Castello Ceconi

When I went to Venice this spring, La Serenissima wasn´t the main reason for me to travel there – I was lucky enough to attend a workshop by Sue Bryce Education at Castello Ceconi in the Pielungo, about 2 hours from Venice. We stayed in the little town Maniago, about a 45 minutes drive from the Castello and enjoyed a very scenic bus ride every day and pizza & wine at the local pizzeria every night.

Castello Ceconi was built in the late 19th century by the Fruili entrepreneur, Count Giacomo Ceconi. Born in 1833 in Val Nespolaria to humble surrounding, he came to Triest in 1851 to learn the business of building & construction. Being a very good student he soon got special assignments. In 1857 Ceconi started to work on important railway connections, uniting Klagenfurt and Maribor, Verona to Tirol and others in the Habsburg Empire, building the station buildings.

In 1879 he got the Austrian citizenship and started the construction of the Arlberg Tunnel, which opened in 1884.
He continued his work until 1900 building the port of Trieste and various ports on Sardinia.
Getting the title “Count” required getting a residence in Italy. Ceconi decided to build a villa near his native village and even started to spend more time in the Pielungo.
Constructed in neo-gothic style Castello Ceconi also incorporates medieval and Renaissance elements. Ceconi was also a huge advocate for reforestation and almost 2 million of seedlings were planted on his land.
An elegant building at the foot of the Dolomites surrounded by a lush forest.

After Cecconi’s death in 1910, his family sold the Castello and the forest. In 2007 Graphistudio bought the villa and the adjoining forest and started a throughout renovation of the building to open it for photographers from all around the world to learn, interact and grow – The Graphistudio Accademia. And I´m lucky enough to go back there in May 2018 for another workshop.

After our three day workshop at the Castello we even had the opportunity to visit the actual production site. Graphistudio offers high-end photo albums, prints and folio boxes for professional photographers handmade in Italy.

I´ve been looking around for the perfect products for my clients for quite a while and finally found the ones I love! Luxurious handmade boxes and passe-partouts that keep your precious images not only safe but are a beautiful way of displaying them.

31/10/2017
Hello June

May ended with the first heatwave of the year and these temperatures make me even more dreaming of the sea!

Carola, Lido delle Sirene 2016

01/06/2017
Maratea

Welcome to the Tyrrhenian coast, to the “Pearl of the Tyrrhenian”, also known as Maratea. It stretches along 32km on the rocky coastline and many beautyful beaches and consits of different settlements. “The Town of 44 Churches” not only has that many churches but also a huge variety in landscape from stunning sea-views, wooded hills and impressive mountains.

The Old Town of Maratea (“Maratea Borgo”) is situated on the northern side of Mount San Biagio facing the ocean. The first settlements seem to go back to the Paleolithic Age. From the 15th–14th century BC to the 2nd century BC a small trading village was established, called “La Timpa” until the Romans conquered it and renamed it “Lucania”, still the village remained a trade center until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In the following centuries this area had many differnet soveraings.

In the 11th to 12th century todays city center, the “Borgo” was founded and settled.

In view of the risk from Saracen attacks, the Borgo was situated behind Mount San Biagio, so that it could not be seen from the sea. (wikipedia: Maratea)

In the 18th century Maratea experienced a time of progress and prosperity, many of the 44 churches were built and the first hospital of Basilicata opened here. In the 19th century Maratea was strucked by poverty and emigration like many other towns and areas in Italy. In the 1050ies the situation improved and first hotels started to open up along the coastline.

Today Maratea is a picturesque village with a kind lost area and a colourful city center. It invites you to just walk around town and up the hill (when you find the right way to the christ-statue situated on top of the mountain, which I didn´t, I also didn´t find the bus, which brings one up there) and just enjoy the breathtaking views over the sea.

After some more caffé back down at the little port of Maratea, I spent the last hours of my two days in and around Maratea on the beach and just snorkel and paddel around the coast.

03/01/2017