A bonus post for Day Eight in Italy! I’ve always had a fascination with doors. When I was a child, I would hang upside down on the sofa and look at the ceiling and doorways, imagining walking over the thresholds and entering another dimension. I actually started a personal project years ago called Thresholds which I will continue to work on for years to come. While in Barga, I was immediately attracted to all of the beautiful and varied doors. I didn’t realize how many shots I had gotten until I got home and began culling images. So here is a little mini-post of just Barga doors. I hope you enjoy them!
#14
I really love the stone work around the doorway at this home, #14. The wood is old and beat up, the concrete stained, yet the details on the door are still beautiful.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/2.5 | 1/160 | ISO 100
#25
I think the harsh lighting really adds to the drama of this door, #25. The stone work is ornate and the wooden doors big and heavy. I really like the winged man/animal carvings at the top and the gargoyle-looking door handles.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/5 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Wrought Iron
This door had the most beautiful wrought iron details and that giant family crest at the top is stunning. Even though the stone work is crumbling, there is a quiet magnificence to this door.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.5 | 1/250 | ISO 100
#35
This door, #35, is quiet and understated. I like the stone carvings at the top (I wish I knew what they represented!) and the quaint mailbox.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.5 | 1/250 | ISO 100
#37
This door, #37, is one of my favorites because of its color. The green has an almost patina-like hue and the family crest embedded in stone at the top is quite intricate. There is a sign on the left indicating that this was the home of Alberto Magri, 1880-1939, an artist. I don’t know what the metal bars embedded in the stone are for.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.5 | 1/250 | ISO 100
#39
The doors and shutters of #39 create a cohesive curb appeal for this Barga home. I like that you can see the sky reflected in the windows. Another intricate family crest adorns the top of the doorway.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.5 | 1/250 | ISO 100
#41
This home, #41, is located on a very steep street. I like the color of the house and how it complements the beautiful wooden doors. The chipped paint and stucco lend to the ancient atmosphere of this small town.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/4 | 1/250 | ISO 100
Tiny Door
We saw many of these tiny doors located throughout Barga (remember from last week’s post the tiny door and bench from the duomo and another tiny door next to which I posed?). These doors range in size from about 5′ to 5.5′ high. This one was located just to the right of the main door. I do not know its purpose.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/4.5 | 1/200 | ISO 200
#10
This was my very favorite door, #10. Maybe my favorite door I’ve ever photographed! The colors, the lighting, the sheer perfection of the texture and chipped paint all speak to my artist’s soul. I even love the large chip of paint on the bottom right and how how the gray stucco under the yellow paint matches the base of the building and the street.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/4 | 1/320 | ISO 200
#11
What a rough exterior #11 has! You can tell it has been patched together over the years. I really love the lion-head door knockers. Everything in Old Barga has been there for centuries.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.2 | 1/320 | ISO 200
ai pozzi
This is actually an AirBnB vacation rental property. Though technically not a doorway, the large wall of windows open to the outside. This property has a more Asian influence to me and I found it worth photographing.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/5.6 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Tiny Door and Building Cross
This tiny green door isn’t quite 5-feet tall and is so vivid that it really caught my eye. I love how the building’s seams and a piece of embedded iron make a natural cross.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/3.5 | 1/320 | ISO 100
#3
I alluded to this garden’s gate in my last post, Italy, Day Eight (Part Two) ~ Old Barga. The exterior gate of #3 is surrounded by moss-covered stone, and the deep rusty red gate lets us peek in to the lush green garden inside.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/2.5 | 1/250 | ISO 640
#32
This is the last image in my Barga Doors series, #32. Located on a quiet, deserted street, the old wooden doors match the iron-covered grates on the right. The owners had put dried flowers in the grate, adding an artistic touch to their home.
Nikon D750 | 20mm | f/2 | 1/320 | ISO 1000
Next week will conclude our Italy trip. We visit a vineyard on Wednesday, then travel back to Rome on Thursday to head home on Friday. Thanks for looking!
