Quaint, cute, charming... I try to use these adjectives sparingly, but how else can this scene be described. I particularly like the touch of the Chianti wine bottle hanging in front of the window.

This photograph invites the viewer to take a peaceful stroll down the old stone lane in this Chianti hill town.

This photograph comes from my 1998 visit to San Gimignano and was captured on film. Clouds and mist hovered in the valleys below the hill town.

We made a day trip to San Gimignano from Siena via bus. Our original intent was to take a bus part way and take a hiking trail up to the town. The directions in my book were very sketchy and we never even succeeded in finding the trail. We ended up waiting for another bus to come along and take us into the town. Maybe the bus driver's skepticism at our request to be dropped off at Zona di Foci should have been a clue to our folly... alas we were naïve.

This is another view from San Gimignano, photographed on my 1998 visit.  This photograph was captured on film and has been scanned for digital printing.

This home in a Chianti hill town comes with a cat on the front doorstep. I believe the occupant likes plants, don't you?

Somehow I feel that narrow stone lanes and arches create a sense of adventure. They seem to extended an invitation to explore.

This is another view from San Gimignano, photographed on my 1998 visit.  This photograph was captured on film and has been scanned for digital printing. I have added a soft focus vignette to create athe romantic feel that is part of the Tuscan experience.

I thought an antique touch conveyed the ambiance of this scene. Originally photographed with film on my 1998 visit to Siena, this image has been scanned and digitally altered to create the antique look. The iconic Fountain of Joy is in the main Piazza of Siena and there you can watch the pigeons line up for a drink.

All the elements needed for a picturesque scene of Chianti are here... a window and green shutters, an old pump, a planter with flowers. I think that covers it.

Another cobblestone lane and arch climbing the steep hill in a Chianti village.

The hill town of Montefioralle lies in the heart of northern Chianti. It is a quaint and quiet little town. This view is from the steep narrow road above the town which we took by mistake and which made my wife extremely nervous, but I had to stop and get a photograph as long as we were up there..

This photograph is a composite created with layers from my nature images. The textures and tones yield a pleasing rendition of the view over Siena. The original photograph was captured on film.

This photograph is a composite created with layers from my nature images. The textures and tones yield a pleasing rendition of the view over Siena. The original photograph was captured on Ilford XP2 black and white film.