June 2012 in Bologna Italy

Alan and Cyane spent the last week of June 2012 in Bologna Italy, coming for the film festival of old movies put on by the Cinoteca di Bologna:  La Cinema Ritrovato.


The themes in the following pages are: movies (all day every day during the festival, and into the night), walls, arches and arcades, doors, gates and courtyards, and the enveloping heat.  Please note the saturated glorious colors of ochre, red, pink which saturate the frame of view and the photos that follow.


Here is a list of many of the movies attended during the seven days at the festival:
1930 The Big Trail; Director Raoul Walsh, John Wayne
1933 Sonnenstrahl, Pal Fejos, German-Austrian
1927 Maldone; Jean Gremillion, French
1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp; Michael Powell, English
1929 After the Verdict; Alma Reville, English
1930 Prix de Beaute; Augsto Genina, Italy
1916 Pillars of Society; Raoul Walsh
1931 David Golder; Julien Duvivier, France
1936 Partijnyj Vilet, Ivan Byr'en, Russia
1929 Gardiens de Phare; Jean Gremillion, France
1954 La Romana; Luigi Zampa, Italy
1961 Lola; Jacques Demy, France
1932 Wild Girl; Raoul Walsh
1982 Documenteur; Agnes Varda, France
1954 La Nave delle Donne Maledette; Raffanello  Metarazzo, Italy
1931 Madamu lo Nyobo; Heinosuke Gosho, Japan
1951 Distant Drums; Raoul Walsh
1936 Komedie om Geld; Max Ophuls, Holland
1937 Gueule d'Amour; Jean Gremillion, France
1954 Viaggio in Italia; Roberto Rossellini, Italia
1930 Mary; Alfred Hitchcock, England
1922 Kindred of the Dust; Raoul Walsh
1947 Pursued; Raoul Walsh
1939 Remorques; Jean Gremillion, France
1960 Meghe Dhaka Tara (Cloud-Capped Star); Ritwik Ghatak, India
1926 What Price Glory; Raoul Walsh
1933 Hard to Handle; Mervyn LeRoy
1933 La Tete d'un Homme; Julien Duvivier, France
1930 Murder; Alfred Hitchcock, England
1928 The First-Born, Miles Mander, England
1949 Samson and Delilah; Cecil B De Mille
1943 Le Ciel est a Vous; Jean Gremillion, France
1928 The Constant Nymph; Adrien Brunel, England

Walls and Wall Materials in Bologna Italy

 It is hard to appreciate the gorgeous colors of ochre and earth tone walls in Bologna, Italy.
There are also many wonderful types of stone, many calcareous, and bricks.
Here you see shots straight on of just a few walls observed walking the streets.

Many walls are functional and not intended to be beautiful.
There is graffiti everywhere.

Bologna Italy, end of June 2012

 The colors and the arcades with arches are seductive, making even parking and trash receptacles look romantic in the setting sun, below.

 By day, the streets are not so romantic.
Many areas were bombed in 1943 and rebuilt with stark modern arcades.

 Then at night the sun sets, the moon comes out with people on the piazza and life is once again magical.

Festival of Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna

 The Festival of Old Movies takes place in Bologna every year near the end of June/beginning of July.  There are over 7 days of movies from 9 am to 9 pm, showing in four theaters simultaneously - plus lectures and discussions!  The festival poster for 2012 shows a scene from the movie Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone, showing James Woods and Robert de Niro.  The festival is put on by the Cinoteca Bologna.

 One example of a restored film is Lola, by Jacques Demy, starring Anouk Aimee.

 Agnes Varda, widow of Jacques Demy and a film maker in her own right, came to Bologna in 2012 to speak about the family efforts to restore all the films of Jacques Demy.

Arches and Arcades in Bologna

 Arches in a courtyard above.
Arches and columns of a sidewalk arcade, below.

 Interior arches of a church on Via San Lame, above.


Over 600 arches lead form a portico path that leads several kilometers up a steep hill, to...

 Chiesa di San Luca below.

A Few Doors in Bologna

 Modern elegant doors above.
Classic simple old doors below.

 Elaborate door handles, above, belong to the Palazzo Felicini-Fibbia, built in 1497.
The whole door is depicted at night in the last photo, second below.

Gates and Courtyards in Bologna, Italy

 Gates often protect inner courtyards from the street.
The outer door above led to the beautiful gate below and then ...

 to the playground for a childrens school in the courtyard.

Other gates are more utilitarian, leading to commercial spaces, malls, or businesses.

The Hot June Sun in Bologna

 The glowing sun finally sets after 9 pm above, after many hours of searing light.
The arcades that cover many sidewalks in Bologna, below, help give shade in summer and also protection in the winter.

 During the afternoon, life seems to stop outside of the shadows.
The cicadas play on.