Comfort Cooking

I went for a late lunch at this homely restaurant, similar to a little Italian kitchen, in the centre of Pietrasanta one day in July. They served small portions of Primi, Secondi and Digestivi along with a carafe of red wine- the many courses traditional of Italian culture.

For starters, as shown in the picture above (taken with digital G12), we were served Melanzane alla griglia, torta e bruschetta con salsa di pomodoro e picolo polpette. And many wonderful things to follow. 

Village Green

Riding through Forte Dei Marmi and into Pietrasanta, occasionally I would wander through shaded side streets, past crumbling-stone mansions and under tall bristling trees, along open wheat fields and past soundless glassy rivers. The cool breeze and endless roads were a relief from the hot sun and long hours of working and I would try get out often.

My Gran had a loaded apricot tree in her back garden where her neighbours hung their washing, all preen and pegged, and I thought the image was so characteristic of Tuscan society.

I collected a few apricots, washed them and put them in a bowl on the kitchen table where they glowed in the sun. 

Pietrasanta

I lived and worked in Forte dei Marmi while I was in Italy, but not far from it, Pietrasanta, was my

 favourite little community. 

It was not until I travelled further across Europe, into other Italian cities and South of France, that similarities started to show between each city and the things I found charming about the town, and the historical buildings and sites that had been so well preserved, were prominent in so many other places. 

LIFE DRAWING

I joined a nude life drawing class the first week I arrived in Pietrasanta but was unable to keep it up religiously once I started working even though I enjoyed it so much. 

The model changes positions every 15 minutes so you have to sketch quickly, and as you do the body becomes an artistic frame with which you follow the lines and curves. I experimented with charcoal and pencil but the drawings below- from my second class, I used only charcoal.

Pietrasanta Piazza

In Summer the sun goes down after 9 in Pietrasanta.

It's lovely to sit and socialize in the Piazza and have an aperitivo. They serve little bowls of olives and woven baskets filled with crisps to accompany your drinks as you sit under white umbrellas looking into the square- watching people on their bikes and walking their dogs. 

Pietrasanta is such a well-preserved little community- still bearing it's antique charm without looking as though it's going to fall apart. 

Angels in the Attic

This is Martin Foot's

sculpture studio.

Richard, a friend of mine in Pietrasanta, is an intern for him in the Summers, so I was given a tour of the attic above his studio where majority of his dust-covered sculptures stand- everyday bathed in sunlight through the large pane windows.

A Sculptor's Workplace

Pietrasanta is well-known for it's marble quarries as it gets it's marble from up in the mountains.

My Grandmother goes up to Tuscany every year to sculpt in marble so I was able to see the inside of a sculptors community and meet some interesting people.

MY BIKE

This is the bike I rode in Forte Dei Marmi, Tuscany when I wanted to get around.

There is a long bicycle path along the main road to Pietrasanta which I rode when I wanted to go out for the night, crash at a friend and then come back early for work- 45 minutes a trip. Part of it is a narrow winding path that runs through the forest which is quite charming.