Continued from Part One.
There was a taxi service from the canal’s dock to take those not wishing to walk into the centre of Aquileia.
The weather was mild and pleasant. We opted to walk. Fifteen minutes later we came to the centre of the village; a pleasant place with small shops, a local bar and a restaurant.
Our destination – the ancient Christian complex centred on the Basilica of Bishop Chromatius – was on the far side of the small town.
The walk revealed Roman ruins on either side, but little that hinted at the splendour that was to follow.
We saw the ‘campanile’ bell-tower first; then the outline of the rest of the basilica. Even from a distance the size of the complex was impressive.
Visitors are guided, first, to the smaller building on the left of the photo, above: The Baptistery of Bishop Chromatius, built, like most of the site, in the 4th – 5th century AD, the period when the Roman Empire was coming to its end, but a time that marked the expansion of the Roman Church into a formiddible religious force.
The Baptistery is an integral part of the basilica complex created by Bishop Chromatius (388 – 408). The original plan was square with four corner niches, above which the building is octagonal, with windows in the eight sides, an internal vault and a sloping roof above.
The floor and socle were probably in marble, whereas the walls and vault were certainly decorated with mosaics and frescoes.
The Baptistery was joined to the narthe by two long chambers which had functions connected with baptism and religious instruction.
In the 9th century, after the demolition of the two side wings, a direct connection with the portico of the basilica was built (the “pagans’ church”) and three of the four corner niches were eliminated, giving the Baptistery a basically octagonal shape.
The same period saw the construction of an ambulatory, with reused Roman columns placed at the corners of the hexagonal baptismal font.
But if the Baptistry was impressive, what followed left us dazzled.
To be continued in Part Three
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax. Illustrative images created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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The Old Bridge mills once formed the heart of Kendal’s industry. They have since been converted into offices and other commercial properties.
The River Kent flows right through their heart, providing a dramatic urban landscape which can be seen from the castle, a twenty minute walk away.
The height of summer is a good time to reach into this landscape and capture its lushness.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12
ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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You can approach the Roman ruins of Aquileia by road or by water. The road to Grado passes right through the small town, displaying the ruins on either side of the tarmac. What you don’t realise is how ‘basic’ these are compared with what lies beyond the nearby field to the east.
In these ruins and the carefully preserved artefacts found here is told the story of one of Rome’s most important cities, and the place from which its embrace of the Christian faith was spread throughout its empire. Yet, they are practically unknown except to the dedicated tourists researching Italian history.
Aquileia has another story to tell, one of the post Roman era, whose local remains are far more than tumbled stone by the modern roadside…
From Grado, where we were staying, you can use either road or water to get to Aquileia. We chose water, uniquely enabled by Grado being an island surrounded (apart from a long causeway) by sea which gives access to waterways that reach deep into the Italian countryside.
The first part of the journey is from Gerado’s port and along the coast, as though following the route to the deeper waters and out towards Trieste or Venice.
After about twenty minutes of sailing, the ferry makes a surprising change of course towards what look like swampy waters along the mainland coast.
A number of small islands appear in the stream, some of them inhabited. What a hermit-like existence! But there’s something tranquil about it… Better see it in winter before we make an offer!
Ahead, the dense vegetation seems to part, and the ‘canal’ to Aquileia is revealed.
The number of boats moored here is surprising but I suspect economic. It’s a lot less expensive to keep a boat in this quiet backwater than on the expensive island of Grado, itself. As we sail deeper into the mainland – the outbound trip last about 30 mins – we notice more and more sophisticated craft.
Eventually, the mystery is solved. One of the province’s oldest boatbuilders operated from the edge of Aquileia. It’s a place of the ancient and the very modern.
Ahead of us now are the edges of Aquileia town. There is a feeling of surprises to come…
To be continued in Part Two.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax. Illustrative images created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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The sun was starting to set when we took the collie for her final walk; along the old canal path …
… and down across the fields to emerge at the old bridge over the River Kent.
There are certain evenings when the mellowness of the water on limestone is exquisite.
Worth taking a few detailed shots to show it off.
Still filled with the glow, we returned the way we came to find one or two surprises where we were least expecting them.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12ProMax or created using NightCafe Studio Al.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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For over twenty years, Hampstead, in north London was my ‘business home’ for at least half the working week. I would join the thousands of other workers taking the Northern Line tube into The City.
London, like most large cities, can be overwhelming and a permanent assault on the senses, but I got to make peace with it when I found a budget hotel in the lovely suburb of Hampstead – discovered one summer evening when I was on a long stroll.
I immediately fell in love with its gentle and individual streets and cafes, and its cultured and generally polite residents. Soon, it was a home from home…
We hadn’t been back in a while, so the prospect of a long weekend during which my wife could catch up with her godfather and celebrate her birthday was something to look forward to.
Our first day completed, we walked up from the hotel in Belsize Park to ‘the village’ of Hampstead. The soft summer light was perfect for taking some ‘muted’ shots on the iPhone.
It was all as we remembered: the quirky shops, mysterious gates and general sense of being somehow apart from the rest of the capital.
A coffee at the top of the hill, then we crossed over to take the easier walk back down.
A very happy reunion. The mild summer night helped, and it was noticeably warmer than our home in Cumbria.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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Their summer is so brief but the beauty says otherwise…
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax or created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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They last for minutes … sometimes seconds. A long, sunny day gives way to the start of twilight.
And then the special colours begin.
There’s little time to do anything but stare. Words are inadequate and would not assist the mind to grasp the beauty.
It’s simply there to be felt. Nothing can be said to add to the ‘beingness’ of the moment.
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©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
There is no charge to attend these meetings
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Sometimes you just look up and the most perfect arrangement of life and ‘objects’ is before you.
Crouch down to include the grasses and summer flowers … and it’s complete.
Bolton-le-Sands shore, Lancashire.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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Some landscapes are just so ‘big’ – in several ways – that you can feel your self being drawn out from your body and into them.
There to ‘fly around’, experiencing the curves, the rocks, waters, gradients and breezes that whisper.
Some landscapes…
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax or created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation
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It’s just across the bridge; but it’s another world.
The bridge in question is the Rialto, which spans the Grand Canal – the central waterway of Venice, so it’s not your everyday transition.
On the St Mark’s Square side is Venice at its most popular – and busy.
On this side, you can walk till you come to a dead end… or get lost, or both, and recover your wits at the nearest family restaurant.
These are few and far between, but, in our experience, all wonderful; which makes getting lost in the quieter part of ‘town’ a delight.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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It doesn’t happen often in these parts. You have to make the best of what I call the ‘sultry light’ when it does…
The rich greens and golds take on a different hue… more ‘earthy’, a bit like a child’s fairy story.
Even the River Kent feels subdued; as though it would rather pose for photos than thunder through the Sedgwick Gorge.
©Stephen Tanham 2024
All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax or created using NightCafe Studio AI.
Stephen Tanham is a writer-photographer and mystical teacher. He is the founding Director of the Silent Eye, which offers a monthly Zoom-based gathering of companions, each one on their own, unique journey to deeper states of self-realisation.
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