Longing for the southern light

Passion between Isar and Mediterranean Sea

THE ORIGINAL: MAREMMA – THE MAGICAL SOUTH OF TUSCANY

The Maremma is an archaeologically and historically important, yet very natural area, located in the Southern Tuscany. It is the coastal strip between Livorno and the peninsula of Monte Argentario. The name Maremma is derived from the Spanish “marisma” and means “marshy coastal area”.

The Maremma was part of the Etruscan ancestral homeland. The Etruscans – thanks to the mineral wealth of this area – built rich and beautiful towns with walls and fortifications and established the first drainage systems. The Romans profited from the fertile soil, made it arable with extensive canal systems and transformed the Maremma into the granary of Tuscany.

After the demise of Rome followed a period of wilderness in the Maremma. The drainage systems flake away, the land became marshy again, until finally spreaded malaria. The fever decimated the entire region. Today the swamps are drained, the fertile plains are fed back to its original purpose and deliver barley, corn, wine and fruit.

Without any doubt, the Tuscany is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe. Great artists have always been inspired by its unique light and beautiful colors. Those who speak about the Tuscany are highly impressed: the sunny garden of Italy offers landscapes of almost surreal beauty: partly mystical, soft, hazy and smooth, but also crystal clear, powerful and aboriginal wild.

Goethe once remarked ecstatically:
“Tuscany is not in Italy, but Italy is in the Tuscany.”

IT IS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE TO ESCAPE THE FASCINATING LIGHT AND FLAIR OF THE SOUTH…

whether north or south of the Alps. I would wish that my photographic captures are able to inspire you. To take an instant of vacation from everyday’s life, to relax and let your spirits flow. Maybe a piece of “southern longing” will move into your home…

MUNICH, THE SO-CALLED MOST NORTHERN CITY OF ITALY

Munich and Italy –  a centuries-old relationship across the Alps.

It had a big influence on the southern look of the city, so that sometimes the boundaries seems to blur. What you need to have experienced – one of the most typical Munich-Italian views – on a bright, shiny day, perhaps with “Föhn”, which makes you almost forget to breathe for an instant: the fassade of the brilliant bright-yellow Theatiner church in front of the wide, white-blue sky of Bavaria in the background.

A significant influence that Munich is nicknamed as Italy’s northernmost city, had Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. She came from Turin to Munich in 1652 to marry Elector Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria. From her Italian homeland she brought along musicians, singers, cooks, tailors and architects  to implement a southern flair in the Bavarian province.
The architect Agostino Barelli from Bologna and the Grisons architect Enrico Zucalli were appointed and should build and design a country house in elegant Italian Baroque style, Nymphenburg Palace, on the occasion of the birth of their son Max II Emanuel.

More important for the urban planning was the Theatiner church, also held in the then modern Italian Baroque style. Again Barelli and Zucalli were the important architects here. The facade was completed in 1765 by Francois Cuvilliés. Standing in front of the magnificent baroque building, you will encounter – all around – examples of Italian culture and architecture.

The Feldherrenhalle (completed 1841), is a replica of the Galleria dei Lanzi in Florence. The builder was Friedrich von Gärtner. He also created the  Siegestor (winning goal), the origin model is situated in Rome and is called Arch of Constantine. Ludwig I. has designed both monuments to give an entrée and a conclusion to the Ludwig street.

It is a special mixture of cultural heritage, the weather phenomenon “Föhn” and its resulting fascinating light and weather moods, the beautiful lakes and its geographical neighborhood to the south, which conjures up a unique Mediterranean flair in the Bavarian metropolis of Munich and its environment. As a result, sometimes it makes you forget to be north of the Alps.