Toscana

An Italian-style village in Thailand: ochre facades, a leaning tower, glasshouses on still water, and almost nobody in the streets.

Channel: CH 08
Frames: 29
On air: 18 April 2025
Camera: X-H2S

Terracotta and cream buildings on a hillside above palm trees and pink flowers under a blue, cloud-streaked sky — At half past nine the hill is already lit like a stage set. Terracotta roofs climb in tiers, palms stand guard below, and a white car waits by the roundabout as if parked by a props crew. Pink blossoms crowd the foreground, still cool from the night. Clouds drift in thin strokes overhead, and the whole town looks borrowed from somewhere far west of here.

Tall cylindrical tower with rings of arched windows above a staircase, string lights and silhouetted visitors — The tower rises in stacked rings of arches, pale against a sky going soft and grey after five. String lights loop from its flanks to the surrounding roofs, not yet switched on. At the foot of the staircase, small dark figures climb and linger. It stands straight here, whatever its famous cousin does, and it looks almost like an antenna waiting for a signal.

Two glass pavilions with curved green roofs on a stone embankment beside a calm lake under a grey sky — Two glasshouses sit on the water's edge, roofs curved like green tin barrels. Their panes reflect the overcast sky so well they almost disappear into it. The lake in front ripples in slow bands, and dark trees hem the far shore. No one moves inside. They look like conservatories built for a weather that has not yet arrived.

Open dark-framed glass door leading from a dim tiled room to a bright arched passage outside — Inside, the tiles are cool and the walls hold the dusk-brown colour of old honey. The door stands open, its glass panes doubling the light. Beyond it, an arched passage burns almost white in the sun, a gate visible at the far end. The room seems to be waiting for someone to step through, or for the morning to step in.

Stone fountain shaped like a large shell with a carved face, a thin jet of water and a balustrade behind — A carved face peers out from the back of a stone shell, and a thin jet of water rises from the basin in front of it. The spray is caught mid-climb, a bright white thread. Behind the fountain, a balustrade and a striped awning lead the eye to an orange building. The water keeps up its small, steady noise.

Pink and orange facades with a painted Ravello sign, navy umbrellas and people by a curved pond edge — A painted sign reading Ravello hangs across the orange facade, its letters framed by a little landscape. Navy umbrellas stand furled outside the restaurant, and white urns line the edge of the terrace. A few people gather near the stairs, talking. The pond curves along the bottom of the frame, holding warm reflections that tremble whenever the breeze crosses it.

Base of a cream tower with a clock, a balustrade and mosaic panels showing colourful town buildings above steps — At the foot of the tower, mosaic panels show the village in miniature: rows of pastel houses rendered in tiny chips of tile, a round rosette in the centre. Above them, a balustrade and a clock face, its black hands marking a little before half past five. The steps below are dark and empty. The town is looking at a picture of itself.

All 29 framesin the order they were made