Laveno - Italy

Laveno-Mombello is a small town in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km northwest of Milan and about 20 km northwest of Varese. 

As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,991 and an area of 25.9 km². The municipality was formed in 1927 to encompass the previously separate centres of Laveno, Mombello and Cerro. The name of Laveno comes from the Latin word "labes", that means "landslide".

It is common thought that the name comes from the Roman general Titus Labienus, but actually just the main road of the town, via Labiena, is named after him. Titus Labienus is considered responsible for naming Mombello too, after a battle against the Gauls ("mons belli" means "war hill"). 

A different interpretation says that the meaning is "monte bello", that is "beautiful hill". In the 19th Century, Laveno Mombello was home to important ceramic industries. Today, it is a port town that connects the province of Varese with Verbania and the famous Borromean Islands across Lake Maggiore.

This picture were taken from the docks of the gorgeous view of the lake.

INSTACAVAS GALLERY NOW OPEN!!

Thought you might like to check out my Instacanvas gallery, where you can see and buy some of my best photography and artwork.

Empire State Building - NYC - USA

The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. 

It has a roof height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft (443.2 m) high. 

Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. 

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was again the tallest building in New York (although it was no longer the tallest in the world). The Empire State Building was once again demoted to second tallest building in New York on April 30, 2012, when the new One World Trade Center reached a greater height.

The Empire State Building is currently the third tallest completed skyscraper in the United States (after the Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower, both in Chicago), and the 15th tallest in the world (The tallest now is Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai). It is also the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

It is still an icon for the American and world-wide culture.

This picture was taken from Rockefeller Center.

Tonale - Italy

The Adamello-Presanella Alps Alpine group is a mountain range in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group of the Eastern Alps. 

It is located in northern Italy, in the provinces of Trentino and Brescia. The name stems from its highest peaks: Adamello and Presanella. 

The Adamello-Presanella Group is separated from the Ortler Alps in the north by the Tonale Pass; from the Bergamo Alps in the west by the Oglio valley (Val Camonica); from the Brenta Group in the east by the Campo Carlo Magno Pass and the river Sarca; to the south it continues towards Lake Iseo.

This picture represents the Mount Presanella (3558 mt).

Silk Worms - Part 2

Here is a quick follow up of my previous post regarding silk worms! Amazing creatures!

After they've eaten about 10 kg of leaves, the close up in a silk ball like this:

Eventually, after about 1 week they will crawl out of the silk ball and...

Tadaaaaa! This is how it looks like after the transformation is complete!

Not quite a beautiful butterfly, but after all this time together I kinda start liking the little fellow :)

And off you go! :)

Riviera Maya - Mexico

Riviera Maya, also known as the Mayan Riviera, is a tourism district following the coastal Highway 307 which parallels the Caribbean coastline of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located on the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. 

This district historically started at the city of Playa del Carmen and ended at the village of Tulum, although the towns of Puerto Morelos situated to the north and between Playa del Carmen and Cancun as well as the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the south of Tulum are both currently being promoted as part of the Riviera Maya tourist corridor. 

The Riviera Maya was originally called the Cancun - Tulum corridor, but in 1999 it was renamed as the Riviera Maya with the aid of Lic. Miguel Ramón Martín Azueta who at the time was the mayor of the municipality of Solidaridad. The municipality of Solidaridad includes the whole of the official Riviera Maya from Playa del Carmen in the north and south to Tulum and extending to some 40 km inland with the border with the state of Yucatan. 

In this picture, a Gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea in Mexico taken from the Barceló resort.

Maliciosa - Sierra de Madrid - Spain

The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara. The range runs southwest - northeast, extending into the province of Madrid to the south, and towards the provinces of Ávila and Segovia to the north. The chain as a whole measures approximately 80 km in length, with its highest peak, Peñalara, reaching 2,428 m above sea level (7,965 ft).

This picture was taken from Navacerrada and represents a cloud above mount "Maliciosa" that really looks like an Atomic Mushroom...

Louvre - Paris - France

The Musée du Louvre is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument.

A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. 

In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years.

During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

Today is still one of the richest and biggest museum on earth.

Notre-Dame - Paris - France

Notre Dame de Paris, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. 

It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra (official chair) of the Archbishop of Paris, currently André Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury houses a reliquary with the purported Crown of Thorns.

The first period of construction from 1163 into 1240s coincided with the musical experiments of the Notre Dame school.

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. 

An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc removed remaining decoration, returning the cathedral to an 'original' gothic state.

With this shot I tried to represent as much as possible that gothic style.

Merida - Mexico

Mérida (the original name in Modern Maya) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula.

It is located in the northwest part of the state, about 35 km (22 mi) from the Gulf of Mexico coast. The city is also the municipal seat of the Municipality of Mérida, which includes the city and the areas around it.

The municipality's area is 858.41 km² (331.43 sq mi). The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Mérida, Umán and Kanasín and had a population of 1,035,238 in the same 2010 census.

This picture represents the City Hall in Merida, illuminated with the Mexican's flag colors.

Silk Worms

The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree").

It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk.

A silkworm's preferred food is white mulberry leaves.

It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and does not occur naturally in the wild.

It is incredible to see how fast and how much they eat in one day!

Ebro River - Spain

The Ebro river is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.

This picture has been taken at about 8000 ft of altitude 200 km west of Barcelona. Hope you like it!!.

Cabo da Roca - Portugal

Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca) is a cape which forms the westernmost extent of mainland Portugal and continental Europe.

“Aqui... Onde a terra se acaba e o mar começa....” as the poet Luis de Camoes wrote: "Here were the land ends and the sea begins..."

Wonderful Place!

Puerta de Alcalá - Madrid - Spain

The Puerta de Alcalá ("Alcalá Gate"), a Neo-classical monument in the Plaza de la Independencia ("Independence Square") in Madrid, Spain.

Commissioned from king Charles III, has been inaugurated in 1778.

Shot taken just outside of the "Retiro Park".

Statue of Liberty - NYC - USA

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. 

The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. 

The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States.

Picture taken from Staten Island ferry.

Foggy Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States.

Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River.

Picture taken in a foggy day from Pier 17 in NYC - USA

Waiting for Reyes - Spain

Western Christianity celebrates the Magi on the day of Epiphany, January 6, the day immediately following the twelve days of Christmas, particularly in the Spanish-speaking parts of the world.

In Spain, the Three Kings ("los Reyes Magos") receive letters from children and so bring them gifts on the night before Epiphany. 

Each one of the Magi is supposed to represent one different continent, Europe (Melchior), Asia (Caspar) and Africa (Balthasar). 

According to the tradition, the Magi come from the Orient on their camels to visit the houses of all the children; much like Santa Claus with his reindeer, they visit everyone in one night. 

This picture has been taken in the Castellana Road in Madrid (Spain) just a few minutes before the parade with the Magi passed by, giving gifts and sweets to the children.

St. Moritz - Switzerland

Skii trip in St. Moritz - Switzerland.

Can't wait to do it again!

Sugar - Close Ups

First attempts to make some close ups pictures. The subjects are big white and brown sugar chunks.

Avila - Spain

Ávila is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León, capital of the province of the same name.

"Ávila de los Caballeros" is an honorific title of the city and others are "Ávila del Rey" and "Ávila de los Leales" which are all present in the flag of the city.

The city is notable for having complete medieval city walls which were built in the Romanesque style. It is also one of the cities with the highest number of Romanesque churches, Gothic churches and catering establishments in relation to the number of its inhabitants.

It is known by many as the city of «Pebbles and Saints». The writer José Martínez Ruiz Azorín, after writing The Castilian Soul, said it was "perhaps the most 16th century city of Spain".