Italian Reds

by Brenna Holeman

Italian Reds 7

Camogli

Italian Reds 11

Portovenere

Italian Reds 21

Genova

Italian Reds 24

Basilicata

Italian Reds 16

Venice

Italian Reds 3

Camogli

Roman Red 1

Rome 

Italian Reds 17

Bologna

Italian Reds 18

Riomaggiore

Italian Reds 8

Burano

Italian Reds 32

Bergamo

Italian Reds 26

Basilicata

Italian Reds 15

Burano

Italian Reds 33

Riomaggiore

Italian Reds 25

Basilicata

Italian Reds 28

Bergamo

Italian Reds 34

Vernazza

Italian Reds 29

Bergamo

Italian Reds 9

Portofino

Italian Reds 27

Pietrapertosa

Italian Reds 30

Clusone

Italian Reds 20

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.

Italian Reds 31

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 orange here and here.
See yellow here and here.
See green here and here.
See blue here and here and here.
See pink here and here and here and here.
See white here.
See a rainbow here and here and here.

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?

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16 comments

Cate February 7, 2017 - 4:50 pm

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

Reply
Brenna Holeman February 7, 2017 - 5:31 pm

Aw, thank you very much, Cate! I love blue, too. 🙂

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Megan | Red Around The World February 7, 2017 - 9:30 pm

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 🙂

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Brenna Holeman February 7, 2017 - 9:51 pm

Thank you, Megan! And great blog name 😉

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Paige February 8, 2017 - 12:14 am

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…

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Brenna Holeman February 8, 2017 - 3:14 pm

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! 🙂

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Laura February 8, 2017 - 1:34 am

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.

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Brenna Holeman February 8, 2017 - 3:13 pm

Thank you so much, Laura! 🙂

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Katie February 9, 2017 - 1:15 pm

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. 🙂

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Brenna Holeman February 9, 2017 - 4:50 pm

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…

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Daddyo February 9, 2017 - 10:34 pm

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 !!

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Brenna Holeman February 9, 2017 - 10:48 pm

Ha ha… maybe a ’56 Chevy in a bright red? 😉

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Suneé February 15, 2017 - 11:24 am

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…

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Brenna Holeman February 15, 2017 - 11:21 pm

See, I’m not logically inclined AT ALL, ha ha. I’m really glad you enjoyed the post, Suneé! 🙂

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Zalie Holeman February 27, 2017 - 5:43 pm

These are all beautiful pictures! I hope that we get to see more Italian reds together soon xoxo

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Brenna Holeman February 27, 2017 - 7:24 pm

I hope so, too, sister! September… xoxo

Reply

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