Four Icons of Classical-Medieval European History Captured through a DSLR Camera

Four icons of European ancient/medieval history were identified by the author as they have been places of special personal interest over several decades. The author has visited these places on a number of occasions in order to get absorbed physically in the architecture, atmosphere and culture surrounding each of them. Whilst visiting these places the author has captured what was observed using digital photography. This process of photographic capture was carried out in two ways, that was initially to get an encyclopaedic record (what was seen) of each of these places and secondly to get artistic views/compilation (what was interpreted) of the essence of the experience of each of these places. The first iconic European place that were visited were nine Italian cities, eight during vacations that were Venice, Verona, Rome, Florence, Assisi, Siena, Sorrento and San Gimignano. The ninth city was Milan visited several times over a two-year period during my working life. The second iconic European place that was experienced was the Catalan city of Girona, a crucial city near the border between Spain and France that had several civilisations controlling it through the ages from the Romans, Germanic tribes, Arabs , Christians and Fascists. The third iconic European place that was experienced was Prague, the home of Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire in medieval times, kings of Bohemia and of several European empires. This city was famed for a 14th century bridge, an astronomical clock, medieval architecture and an ancient castle complex (reputedly the largest in the world). The fourth iconic European place that was experienced was Athens (the home of democracy, science, the Arts, etc.), the Acropolis and especially the Parthenon, all revisited 25 years later and later compared using photographs that were taken during each visit.