Camogli
Portovenere
Genova
Basilicata
Venice
Camogli
Rome
Bologna
Riomaggiore
Burano
Bergamo
Basilicata
Burano
Riomaggiore
Basilicata
Bergamo
Vernazza
Bergamo
Portofino
Pietrapertosa
Clusone
Monterosso
To me, Italy is a country full of colour, full of life. It is a country of beautiful chaos, of the hustle and bustle of busy squares, of Vespas zipping through traffic, of restaurants carrying a cacophony of sounds through the night, people laughing and plates clanking and corks popping. Perhaps this is why I see the colour red everywhere in Italy: the crumbling walls of buildings, the sweet ripe cherries in the hot sun, the swirls of pasta on the plate, the dark oxblood of a perfect glass of wine, the splashes of colour against a rainy sky or a crowded beach. To me, red represents that Italian energy, that vivacity, that beauty.
In this post, two and a half years ago, I talked about how I felt like my tastes were shifting, from that fiery red – my favourite colour for as long as I could remember – to a softer, calmer blue. At that time, I attributed it to the fact that I was slowing down in life, settling in one place for a while. But something has been shifting inside me again, and those stirrings of wanderlust seem to be rising up stronger than ever. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that I’m turning toward red again, turning toward that colour of passion and intensity.
And perhaps it’s no surprise that I’ve fallen in love with Italy as much as I have.
Bergamo
One of my goals this year is to return to my blogging roots, which means a lot more short posts, photo essays, weird little videos, and personal thoughts (this marks my 14th year of blogging, so there are a lot of roots to rediscover). This isn’t the first time I’ve highlighted a particular colour on this blog; I used to do it all the time. Don’t believe me?
See more red here and here and here and here and here and here and here. (Yeah, I really do love red.)
See more colours here.
See what I had to google after I wrote this post and nearly went mad here.
What’s your favourite colour? Does it ever change?
16 comments
This is a beautiful post Brenna! You are so inspirational! I have always loved the color blue, the color of oceans and rivers and the sky. I love every shade of blue, and me eyes are a deep sapphire blue, so thats one as well, also my dogs eyes are pale blue and piercing. Cannot wait to read more of your blog, its incredible
Aw, thank you very much, Cate! I love blue, too. 🙂
I always loved your posts about color! I always liked going through my pictures from a trip and noticing one color that keeps showing up. I always like seeing these 🙂
Thank you, Megan! And great blog name 😉
Return of the color posts, I love it! Although these are dangerous, because I get way too wanderlusty with them. 🙂 You are so right that Italy is red. When I was in Italy as a fifteen year old I bought a black tee shirt in Rome that just said “Roma” on it a ton of times in white with a few red “Roma”s mixed in. I thought I was so edgy and mature. (They sold that style of print on everything, and for different Italian cities too. Do they still make those?! Oh my goodness…)
My favorite color has actually fluctuated quite a bit in my life, between bright purples and mint green! Now I’m trying to figure out whether I can tie the favorite color change to other life shifts and changes. Hmmm…
Ha ha I know exactly which shirts you mean… I think they make tote bags like that, too? I’ve seen them everywhere around the world!!
I do love a mint green, good choice. I’m glad you liked the post! 🙂
Yay! I love these posts and am so happy to hear you’re heading back to your “roots”. I used to love those photo filled posts you did years back.
Thank you so much, Laura! 🙂
Yay color post! Digging the blogging roots re-visit. Since I was little I could never decide between blue and green, and it finally dawned on me — my favorite color must be turquoise. 🙂
Ha ha – I love turquoise as well! Such a beautiful colour. I’ve always dreamed of painting a room robin’s egg blue one day…
Great shots Brenna … Red is not my favorite color but your amazing photos might change my mind ! Got me thinking of a red car .. Yikes !!
Ha ha… maybe a ’56 Chevy in a bright red? 😉
Hahaha, I love that last link! This is an interesting post – I would never have thought to do one based on colour. Must be because I’m more logically inclined than creatively. I haven’t checked out your other color links yet, but I’m going to. Colour me intrigued…
See, I’m not logically inclined AT ALL, ha ha. I’m really glad you enjoyed the post, Suneé! 🙂
These are all beautiful pictures! I hope that we get to see more Italian reds together soon xoxo
I hope so, too, sister! September… xoxo