This conversation about the powers of the sun reminded me that in less than two weeks, a small group of friends and I will be canning the sundried tomatoes that my Mom gets for me regularly from Salento, in Southern Italy. It also reminded me that, while I have gone back to Bologna regularly, I haven't visited with them in the South during the summer in two years now, and that it's been long due. I actually realize that being in Salento, however extreme the summer weather may be with its stark light and heat, that's perhaps the best climate for me.
I love the ways in which the wear and tear caused by the sunlight creates textures and shapes on external building walls:
And I love being in rooms which, just like my Southern Italian bedroom below, are kept as dark as possible and yet the light manages to enter in full force from the simple act of opening a door:
This summer I won't be able to go, as I am moving to Colorado, which is however known to be very sunny. Next summer, my parents plan to come and see me in Fort Collins. So, definitely, I need to plan to go in 2010.
Meanwhile, I found these photographs I took two years ago in Southern Italy, of the sundried tomatoes we buy from the market (the same kind which will end up in jars in two weeks from now) and fresh capers being soaked before getting pickled:
