Ghetto is an Italian Word - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

It's not the first time that I heard this word in Italy.  But Venice is where the word was first spoken.

Now, I'm no historian and, in my opinion, what's written in history books may not always be that accurate.  But here's what I've gathered:

Although segregation of Jews existed in European communities earlier (for example, the name of an island that's separated from Venice by lagoon is Giudecca), Venetian ghetto was the first using such term in Europe.  In 1516, Jews were restricted to living in the Canneregio district of Venice, an abandoned site of a 14th-century foundry that used to produce cannons.  

It was enclosed by two guarded gates and no one was allowed to leave from sunset to dawn.  Restrictions on daily Jewish life continued for close to 300 years, until Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the Venetian Republic in 1797.  He removed the gates and gave all residents the freedom to live where they chose.

As history sees it, it was not the end of Jewish oppression...

Remember the question that I brought up in another post about Pitigliano?  Hint: you could kind of guess the answer now.

An-Entrance-to-the-Jewish-Ghetto-in-Venice-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

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B is for Barbiere in Pitigliano, Tuscany - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

I love traveling in Italy.  Most of this amazing country has somehow resisted the influence of industrialization (and hence the outcome of "homogenization") and stayed adamant about its culture in food, social relationship and habits, in a way that I only remember in the country that I grew up in before it was bulldozed by capitalism.

This image was made when I was roaming the streets of Pitigliano in Tuscany (remember the town that grew out of rock?) at the best time of day (in my opinion) - after siesta time.  The whole town came out and the piazzas were filled with chatty men.  I poked my head into every door and window when my eyes were suddenly met with a scene that, in my mind, only exists in an old movie these days.  Time stayed still, no one was in a rush.  The present moment was all they cared about - be it the barber meticulously working on his client or the ones waiting...

Barber-Shop-in-Rock-City-of-Pitigliano-Grosseto-Tuscany-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

You know you will hear more about Italy's old charm from me in the future. :-)

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I Met a Bird in the Sky in Val d'Orcia, Tuscany - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

The landscape of the UNESCO world heritage site of Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, Italy is one of the most expressive in my opinion.  

I love the movement of the curves, the changes of highlights and shadows,  and the postures of the trees, especially those of the famous cypress trees that line the properties.  And then, one day, I looked up the sky and saw a bird.  I whispered in her ears and let her bring my happy weekend wishes to you. :-)

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