View of St Peter’s Basilica from top of dome

© 2007 Letizia Morley

I’ve been going through my photo archives recently trying to weed out duplicates; for some reason the photos on my Apple devices are showing up double or sometimes even triple. While I was deleting extras, I culled out the duds and then collated some of my favourite travel photographs from over the years into albums. I found quite a few good ones from my summer in Italy in 2007. 

For this picture I had climbed the many many winding narrow steps to the very top of the dome of the basilica. Boy, did that make me dizzy! It was early in the day and as I gazed out over the nearly empty plaza in front of the façade and Bernini’s colonnade, there was a sense of overwhelming grandeur. What a place! What a place! From the top of the inside of the dome, one could look over a railing and see down to the impressive tomb of Saint Peter himself directly below. Inside the church, with its dusky side chapels and shafts of dusty light coming down in long rays, I even saw the famous Pieta statue of Michelangelo, circling around it slowly and in awe. Michelangelo was one of the principle architects for the basilica, did you know?

It’s hard to believe that trip was 10 years ago. How time flies…

“Hair” Comic

Shakespeare’s Church, Oil On linen, 2016

I visited Stratford-upon-Avon a few years ago to see The Merchant of Venice at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. We went to the tomb of Shakespeare at the Holy Trinity Church in the town, the church where he was baptised as well. The tomb is inside the church and on the grave there is this inscription:

Good frend, for Iesvs sake, forbeare to digg the dvst encloased heare. Blese be ye man, ye spares thes stones, and cvrsed be he ye moves my bones.

I guess I was expecting something a little more meaningful or transcendent than a grave-robber’s curse. Very interesting indeed…

This oil on linen painting is based on a photo that I took of the path leading to the entrance of the church.