They are called “borghi del tufo”, since theu have been built from a volcanic stone called “tuff”. Pitigliano, in particular, is also called Little Jerusalem.

With small houses made of tuff and narrow alleys, it got its name from the jewish community that lived peacefully here in the past centuries.

The music is an homage to this Jewish heritage and it is “MIQEDEM – Psalm 23 (Live in Studio) תהילים כ״ג”, all rights to the rightful owners.

The post Sorano and Pitigliano: the tuff towns of Maremma appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

It takes its name from Luni, a Roman town, perhaps pre-dated by an Etruscan settlement, which became the principal urban center on the northern Tuscan coast. Some contend that the name Luni refers to the moon. Others maintain, though little or no evidence exists, that the region was populated by those who worshiped the moon. As if to unite history and myth, the symbol of contemporary Lunigiana is a crescent moon held in the claw of a bear.

During the Middle Ages, there were 160 castles in Lunigiana, only thirty of which have reached our times in a good state of preservation. It was in these castles that Dante found respite during his stay in Lunigiana. The historical origins of these castles date back to times when the Lombards dominated most of the Pianura Padana and, seeking an outlet on the Ligurian/Tuscan coast, they found in the Cisa Pass and the Cerreto Pass, near the town of Fivizzano, the easiest ways to cross the Apennines.

Some scholars contend that with the growth of flourishing branches of the Malaspina dynasty, the inheritance of Lunigianese feudal territories by the ever contesting large and small branches of the family eventually brought about a diminution of individual holdings causing, in the end, the parceling of fiefdoms into increasingly smaller estates, all of which needed to be protected through the building of castles and other stone fortifications. Thus, through the centuries, many large and small (now picturesque) castles were built in Lunigiana, but at the cost of weakening the overall power of the family at each generation.

[source Wikipedia]

These are the castles that you can find in this video

1. Castle Malaspina of Fosdinovo

2. Fortress of Verrucola, Fivizzano

3. Castle of Bastia

4. Castle Malaspina of Tresana

5. Castle Malaspina of Mulazzo

The post Lunigiana Castles – an hidden gem between Tuscany and Liguria appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

You could spend a whole month in this city and yet have things to see and discover.

The magnificence of monuments that have over two thousands years is something difficult to beat in the whole world.

Here some snapshots of the main ones I have visited during these days, just to give you a flavour of what a trip to Rome means.

Masterpieces of Michelangelo

“La Pietà” di Michelangelo, inside the St. Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City.

“Moses” of Michelangelo, in Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli

Trevi Fountain

Probably one of the most famous monuments in the world, a masterpiece that I recommend you visit in deep night, when you will be (almost) all alone. Made by artist Bernini.

Interior of Church Sant’Agnese in Agone

Church in Piazza Navona, in front of the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Fountain of the Four Rivers.

By artist Bernini.

Ancient roman Art

Found in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Altemps.

The Coliseum

No explanations are needed here!

Vittorio Emanuele II bridge with view on St Peter Cupola

Castle Sant’Angelo

A fortress build by popes.

View of St Peter from the keyhole in Malta Order Plaza

Vittoriano – Altare della Patria

St Peter Basilica – outside and inside

The post Rome the Eternal City appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

If you live in a European city like me, wildlife photography is something that you immediately link to a big trip to Africa or maybe South America.

It is true that even within Europe you can shot wildlife, for example brown bears in Easter Europe or Germany, or reindeers in Scandinavia, so it is my fault that I never explored my neighbourhood for this type of photography.

“Thanks to Covid-19” (probably one of the few things that we can thank this global tragedy ), I discovered amazing opportunities to do wildlife photography even in urban northern Italy: the beautiful Alps and its natural parks.

There are several places and occasion to see widlife in the Alps, that of course require a little bit of trekking and patience (not like sitting in a car doing an african safari). A good one is in October for the “belling of the deer” season, where their sounds echo all around the forests.

A very good place to start your trekking is the National Park of Gran Paradiso, a nature paradise that surrounds the italian regions of Piedmont and Aosta Valley. We’ve organized a trekking with local guides of NaturaAlp, that focused our excursion on our fitness level and our goal in taking wildlife photography.

Our first spotting, not quite wildlife, were these very particular cows of a local breed, that really looked like bisons… I know, they are just cows, but I found them quite beautiful. (here the breed if you are interested)

The beginning of the trek was already quite lucky, as we spotted a chamois walking in the breezing morning around the empty houses of a local village:

Along the trekking up into the mountains, we’ve spotted other chamois, getting quite close to them.

After almos 3 hours of trekking we reached our destination, at around 2,300 meters of altitude, and I have to say, the landscape was well worth the (extremely intense for my level) trekking.

At this point we even spotted a couple of birds of prey (not sure of the correct species), very close to us, and I gave it a shot trying to capture them on camera.

But my hope (and final goal) for my italian wildlife safari in the alps was to find the Ibex, and thankfully we’ve been lucky spotting an herd right in front of us: I have slowly crawled on the rocks as close to them as possible and spent almost an hour taking photography of them.

I wish I had some camouflage with me to get close to them, but I have to say that for being my first time ever in shooting  mountain wildlife, the results are quite ok!

The post Wildlife Safari in the Italian Alps appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

Asinara National Park is an ex- prison island located in Sardinia, Italy. Back in the ’90s, several mafia supercriminal were secluded here, and the island was populated only by convicts.

in 1998 the prisons were shut down, and in 2002 the island became a national park.

In this strange summer of Covid-19, after our international travel plans were cancelled, we were looking for a quiet place, with few people, nature, beautiful seaside and yes, very few people.

Asinara National Park is all of this, and more: there are 2 accomodations in the whole island, and one of them is an ex-guards dormitory converted in a hostel: very basic, but clean and with a friendly staff. (check it out here)

To get to the island, there are only two way: daily trips from the south, and ferries to Cala Reale, which leaves from the sardinian town of Porto Torres.

From Cala Reale, you can either take a long walk, rent a bike or catch a minibus to get to Cala d’Oliva, where the accomodations and the diving center are.

I strongly suggest you to rent an electric bike before getting to the island: the roads are very steep, and unless you’re a trained biker, it is going to be quite hard under the italian summer sun.

Cala d’Oliva has two accomodation options, both with restaurant, and an extra bistro. Most importantly, it has the only diving center of the island. It was years that I wanted to get a Padi Open Water Scuba driver patent, mainly for underwater photography (as you can easily imagine), and this was the perfect place and perfect time to do it!

Asinara waters are the most clear of all of Italy, and as a National Park it is abundand of marine wildlife. Plus it has warm waters, all perfect conditions to get to discover the beautiful underwater world!

My first diving has been one of the most significant experience of my life, it really looks to enter in a new world, a new planet. I used to snorkeling, but the difference between browsing above and diving it is literally immense. Especially for the wildlife, which you get to observe extremely close, on the opposite of during snorkeling.

Since I was learning, I was able to get some footage only in my first diving after the permit, and after that my admiration for underwater photographers became even greater!

Even on the beachside, the sheer quantity of fishes is astonishing!

The post Scuba Diving in Asinara National Park appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

Global pandemic of Covid-19 definitely changed our lives in 2020, and among the many things turned upside down, travel is a big one, especially for the people that lives for travelling around the world.

My original plans were a south asian trip from Angwor Kwat to North of Vietnam, with an happy ending in a tropical island of Malaysia: all of this put on hold, hopefully for next summer.

Luckily I am lucky enough to be born in a beautiful country like Italy, with endless options for a within-the-borders holiday; among the many beautiful regions of Italy, Puglia is undoubtedly among the best, thanks to a combination of delicious food, white beaches and picturesque villages.

My starting city was Bari, the “capital” of Puglia, roughly one hour of flight from Milan, and situated within a 3 hours driving distance from the main destinations of Puglia.

The old town of Bari is truly a magical place, a labyrint made of alleys, white stone houses and mouthwatering places to eat Panzerotti. The best one in my opinion is Pizzeria di Cosimo,  in a small plaza well hidden in the heart of of old town. No photo here, I was spending the whole time eating panzerotti…

Circolo dei Canottieri, sea promenade

The famous Polignano a mare (which I posted here) is one hour away, as well as Castel Del Monte, a beautiful medieval castle with a unique octagonal shape.

Polignano a Mare Drone View

Castel Del Monte Drone Aerial View

If you are looking for the best beaches and the most crystalline sea, Salento is the destination for you, with famous destinations like Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Punta Prosciutto and Porto Cesareo, the last two seen from the drone below:

Punta Prosciutto, Salento

Going north of Bari, we do have Gargano National Park, a very different kind of beauty. Gargano is a small peninsula accessible by small curvy roads: on the south side it is all about secluded beach, hidden in the beauty of the nature. One of the most famous one, is Baia delle Zagare, where a luxury hotel owns the access to a private beach. If money is no concerns for you, this is the place.

Baia delle Zagare

Going north along the coast of Gargano, you will arrive to a very peculiar beach, Spiaggia del Pizzomunno, in the town of Vieste. This is the beach shown in the movie Wonder Woman with Gal Gadot.

Next town on the list is Peschici, a beautiful village on the top of a hill, dominating a quiet, family friendly beach just below. While the color of the water is not the blu of Gargano, the setting and the background are quite fascinating, and taking a swim with this background is quite unique.

Besides sunbathing, the dining scene in Peschici is unique for one reason: trabucco restaurants!

Trabucco are centuries old wooden structures that were used by fishermen to fish straight from the coast, without having a boat.

While there are few of them along the southern italian coast, only an handful of them have been converted in local fish restaurants, and trust me, the experience of dining straight on the sea watching the sunset is unforgettable.

Trabucco restaurant

The post Italian Summer: the beauty of Puglia with Gargano and Salento appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

Trapani has its own airport, or you can land in Palermo and catch a transfer to the port of Trapani (roughly one hour of travel).

The Egadi islands are three, from the biggest to the smallest: Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo.

Favignana

Favignana is the biggest islands of the three, with a quite nice town. It has roads so ideally you could drive around the island, but is best visited by boat, like all Egadi.

Besides the famous Tonnara (a place when once tunas where captured and processed), the gem of the island is CALA ROSSA, which is without any doubts one of the best bay-beach of all Sicily (and Italy and I dare to say the whole Mediterranean Sea)

Cala Rossa

You can there by land, as you can see from the aerial perspective, but the shore (like almost everywhere) is rocks, so best to rent a boat or join and excursion.

Favignana Cala Rossa

Visiting Favignana by boat allows you to find your own secluded bay in the island, where to enjoy one of the best waters to swim you can find.

favignana egadi

The rocky shores were once limestone (“tufo”) quarries, and the rocks were removed and transported using small boats: this stopped few decades ago, even if a small quantity is still extracted today, and very, very expensive.

Marettimo

In Marettimo you can already start to forget about roads and cars! Half of the coast is a marine protected area, and it is has only one small town, where you can find few restaurants and accomodation. There is a beach reachable by foot heading west from the town, you can see the way in this drone hyperlapse.

The island if famous for the many sea caves, which can be explored by one of the many boat tours available, usually lasting from a couple of hours to half a day.

Marettimo cave

The most impressive bay of the island is Cala Bianca, which has one of the best seabeds and color of water around.

Marettimo cala bianca

Levanzo

Levanzo, with less than 6 km² of surface, is the smallest island of Egadi, and definitely my favorite one to stay.

There is only a tiny little village in the whole island, 2 restaurants and probably no more than 5 options for accomodation, and that’s why I believe it to be a true gem.

This is basically all the populated area of the island:

Levanzo town Panorama Drone

There are three beaches easily reachable by a short walk from town, all rocky ones, you won’t find sand beaches. First one, 15 minutes walking west of town, is Cala Faraglione, which has a small rock offshore.

levanzo cala faraglione

The other two, on the east side of town are Cala Fredda and then Cala Minnola.

I strongly recommend you to do a boat tour of the island to see the wild north side (with Cala Tramontana), and organize from here your trips to Favignana and Levanto.

My reco as boat tour is “Franco e Alida“, a formidable couple where he’s the sailor and she’s the cook: we had the best time in our holiday with them!

Here’s some night shots of this amazing place:

And this is the hyperlapse, a feature of the DJI Mavic 2 PRO which I really start to love!!!

The post Egadi Islands in Sicily: Levanzo, Favignana and Marettimo from drone appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

Best of Puglia: Castel Del Monte

Castel Del Monte is a unique medieval castle based on an octogonal shape, built in 1240. It can be easily reached by car with less than 1 hour from Bari International Airport.

Castel Del Monte

Best of Puglia: Castel Del Monte

It can be visited in less than an hour, with an easy park at short distance from the entrance.

It is part of Unesco World Heritage from 1996, with this beautiful quote:

When the Emperor Frederick II built this castle near Bari in the 13th century, he imbued it with symbolic significance, as reflected in the location, the mathematical and astronomical precision of the layout and the perfectly regular shape. A unique piece of medieval military architecture, Castel del Monte is a successful blend of elements from classical antiquity, the Islamic Orient and north European Cistercian Gothic.

Polignano a Mare

Polignano a Mare is considered among the best gems of Puglia, and home to one of the BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD: Grotta Palazzese.

Grotta Palazzese Polignano a Mare

This restaurant is literally carved into the cliffs facing the Mediterranean Sea, and you basically dine inside a cave. This is a video of the scenery:

The town is beautiful, with little alleys and terraces on the sea, to be visited both during the day and in the evening, where it gets a really romantic setting.

Polignano a Mare

Polignano a Mare Drone View

Best of Puglia: Trani Cathedral

Trani is a coastal city south of Bari, and it has a beautiful medieval cathedral, built right on the sea. It has been built with a local stone that makes it look white/light pink, especially at the light of sunset. Definitely worth a visit if you are around.

Check out my other articles on the best spots of Italy, like Sirmione and Madonna della Corona!

The post Best of Puglia: Polignano a Mare and Castel Del Monte appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

Monks were gathering here since the medieval times, and the first sanctuary Shrine of Our Lady of the Corona was built in 1522 (more on his history can be found here).

It is very accessible from the main parking, just an easy 15 minutes walking downward: you won’t see it until you are almost to it, since is is hidden and carved into the mountain.

The whole visit of Santuario Madonna della Corona won’t take you more than 1-2 hours, and there is also a nice café just next to it, where you can have a nice italian breakfast.

The hermitage is lighten by the sun from sunrise until around 12 o’clock, so try to be there in the morning to catch good shots. Here a short video shot with DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone.

A very nice bonus is an Alpaca farm just on the walking path: honestly I would have never expected to find this BEAUTIFUL animals in such a place!

Alpaca

The post Santuario Madonna della Corona – Drone view appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.