Saturday, November 15, 2008

Ginkgo on the corner

You know, I love trees. After the Heavenly Tree, here is the Ginkgo Biloba, right in the heart of Verona. It is a huge, beautiful leafy tree. It is still quite green now but soon it will become completely yellow. I read that Ginkgos have an extreme urban tolerance...

"Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species.
A single tree can live as long as 1,000 years and grow to a height of 120 feet"

(University of Maryland Medical Center)

I liked this angle rather than showing you the entire tree, though. It seems to me that, beyond the beauty of the plant, this corner concentrates Verona's typical features: the medieval brick building, the red house with marble balconies, the narrow street (a few steps ahead, on the right, there is Romeo's house!) and a tiny detail in the middle of the photo: an wrought iron flag holder (at least I think that's what it is...) bearing the medieval town's sign, a stair, scala, from the Scala family, the Lords of Verona from the XIII century.

9 comments:

nobu said...

I like this tree. It makes the building more beautiful.

Kitty said...

I love the light and shadows in this photograph. It looks like it was taken at that wonderful time, around 4 or 5 pm.

sorry I haven't been visiting, Valeria. Work is busy as usual, and all the free time is taken up with the dog. I am with you in spirit!

Jill said...

You got an excellent shot of this corner...the different hue of the leaves, the colors of the buildings, just exquisite. Verona must be romantic and magical. Living in a place that was only settled about 175 years ago, it is hard for me to imagine. I am so thankful to see and learn about it through your eyes!

Unknown said...

Beautiful composition! Love the buildings!
I don't believe I've seen a Gingko biloba tree before, but I know it is very good in what concerns prevention for certain deseases.

Saretta said...

Very nice photo, Valeria! I like the contrast between the architectural styles and the soft green of the tree leaves.

Dan said...

I wonder how they determined that the Gingko Biloba tree is the oldest living tree species? I know of trees that live to 5,000 years.

Ming the Merciless said...

We have a lot of ginko trees in NYC too. I didn't realize that is has such urban tolerance. Good to know.

The building on the right is so beautiful. I love the wooden shutters on the windows and the colors.

Great capture.

Tash said...

this is very beautiful with the tree against the texture of the building!

Unknown said...

So much history condensed into one image! I love the leaves of the ginko tree too. They have such a special shape. But, did you notice that when the leaves fall and start to rot they smell really bad? There are many ginkos in NYC and in certain neighborhoods every fall has a distinct bad ginko tree smell! Oh well, I still think they are great trees.

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