Sia la Luce

Sia la Luce - Let there be light. Lanterns are in vogue and has been for a while.  Interior designers and decorators are hunting antiques and flea markets searching for the matching solutions.

Authentic or replicas are in demand for stately entrances, cathedral ceilings, stairwells and kitchens.

Lanterns never fail to bring elegance and style to interiors decorated with antiques or modern pieces. Try to brows the Pinterest for kitchen lighting and you’ll find either industrial look or lanterns in the best examples. In fact they has been so much popular  lately  that I decided to look back to origins.

And no surprise that the most beautiful ones can be found in Italy.

Renaissance among plenty of other things, inventions and arts brought light to the night streets of medieval cities. Torches holders gave way to elaborate lanterns  unique for the place. Some lanterns are real masterpieces.

Exquisite street lights  became jewels on the crown of Florence, Rome or Siena. Recognizable at the very first glance they are viewed as a signage of the cityscape. Most of them are purely decorative elements today but many still add a sparkle to beautiful corners, arches, doors, gates and galleries.

Rome

Siena

The lanterns of Florence

A few days ago devastating  earthquake struck Emilia Romagna part of Northern Italy.

My heart is aching for those who lost loved ones, who lost homes as thousands of frightened people are placed in make shift tent camps. 

Many historical buildings and churches are irreversibly damaged, some like a clock Tower in Finale Emilia collapsed. Some stood tall for 500 years and fell victims to natural disaster. As news agencies report the significant part of the historical heritage was erased. 

An unspeakable loss. A tragic reminder of how fragile is the balance.

So this post is a tiny tribute to Italy with heartfelt wishes of fast recovery and healing the wounds to its wonderful people.

All the very best to my blogging friends.

*All images copyright by Natalie Rapoport