More than a year ago, I spent few days in Paris together with my family.

A “standard” short touristic holyday is not sufficient to learn and know Paris and its life, but can give the opportunity of visit some places among the most famous in the word; famous for arts, culture, history or only for recent social events.

An holiday like this leaves you full of memories. Among these there are pictures.
After some postponing, at the end, I started to gather and organize in some ways these pictures.
As first result I have produced a photo album related to this visit of Paris and I have published it on the web.

Subjects of the photos are famous places that are visited by millions of people and, thus, they will be not news for most of you.
In any case it can be an opportunity to see again, from another point of view, these places.

Taking pictures involves some personal interpretation of the subjects; often these interpretations are forced by the technical instruments, by the perspective and point of view, by the time and the weather.
As result, undoubtedly, often, these pictures resemble each other. I hope I was able to avoid this pitfall also thanks to some postproduction.

Album is not yet completed, some modification will be made in the future, but you can see it at the following address http://www.ars21.net/album/paris2007/

About three years ago, I spent some days in Dubai. These were my impression about it...

Dubai is a fast growing city: strategic position, low tax rate and high degree of freedom are the key for the area expansion. It seems that the local leadership would transform Dubai in a sort of midpoint between Hong Kong and Montecarlo.

High degree of freedom, especially compared to other neighboring countries (even of United Emirates), make easy and comfortable for western and Asiatic people trading and living in Dubai.

Low tax rate is important key to attract capitals and trade business. Being located on the Gulf area, it becomes a favorite access door for the Middle East area, Iraq included. All of that make Dubai a melting pot of races and cultures. There are, too, nearby an high number of well-to-do people, a number of immigrates that lead a poor life with few rights: echoes of this problem can be found also on the local newspapers. 

Fast growing is the impression that the high number of tower being building give to the visitor. The photos of this page were taken quite a year ago during a business travel of few days. There weren't time to spare: most of the photos were taken from inside a taxi! Visit in this way Dubai, I got the feeling of untrue, the impression of a sort of a "plastic" city: the high glasses tower, the plane spaces and the few contact with city true life might yielded this sense.

Photos, as are finally produced, may yield this sense of untrue…. Other towers and place of Dubai are interesting and famous as or more than the ones shown here.

Mykonos Island (Greece)

An alley in the old Castiglione Olona

A church in the nearby of Zia in Kos island

A glimpse of Casole d'Elsa in the heart of Tuscany (Italy).

Pictures I’m introducing to you are related to the S. Giovanni Battista church that is located in Mogno, Val Maggia (Switzerland); it was designed from the famous Swiss architect Mario Botta.

The building, finished in 1996, replaces the previous church built in 1638 that was destroyed by a landslide in 1986.

Pics were taken on 1 August 2005 during a touristic tour of Val Maggia. Unfortunately, weather was not very fine and that made difficult take good shots. Val Maggia is wonderful, specially in the highest part; this Botta’s work adds reasons for visit the valley.

Being in the area, it’ll be a pity to lose the opportunity of a visit.

Airport Charles De Gaulle, Paris; July 2007