Is there such a thing as romance in ornate doorways? I mean that moment when you see them and it makes you stop and take a good look. They speak to you in some way. I talked about my love of old wooden doors in another blog. This blog looks at images of ornate doorways that stand alone as an architectural feature.
Ornate Doorways
Panicale Doorways
The Washing Black Cat
I don’t know how many times I have visited Panicale (in Umbria, Italy, the next town up the mountain from where I live). It is always a source of inspiration and I take endless photographs including doorways. The architecture is glorious, old and full of character. And the old wooden doors and doorways really catch your eye.
One of my popular selling images is this one of a black cat in a Panicale doorway. And it explains perfectly what is attractive about these doors. They are a triumph of architectural features, with marble steps, strong wooden doors and often set in a marble or red brick surround as shown here. I love the semi circular metal windows that many have that allow light into the hallway immediately behind the door.
Ornate Doorway Beside the Church
I have seen this doorway several times on visits to Panicale, but it has never been right for a photograph. Someone cleaning the glass, the door open with deliveries taking place etc. But on a recent visit the door was just perfect so I was able to take a photograph.
This door sits next to the entrance to the Church of S. Michael in Panicale. Isn’t it stunning? The flagstone paving and marble step show that it is on an incline. The redbrick surround beautifully shows off the ornate wood, glass and metal work on this wonderful door. Looks great and this is what I mean about ‘romance’ – it fires the imagine.
Not convinced about ornate doorways yet? Well, let’s look at a few from Tuscany.
Pienza Doorways
Ornate Doorway with Plant Pots
Like all old Italian towns, Pienza is a photographer’s dream and I have written a series of blog articles about it with more to come. So many architectural features, archways, stone walls, wonderful windows and of course ornate doorways!
This wooden door is very pretty, with typical terracotta pots framing marble steps leading up to the entrance. Many town houses don’t have gardens so you often see an array of pots and plants around the entrance like this.
You can see similarities with the design from Panicale above, though in this case the doorway is in a marble surround set in a traditional stone wall. With the autumn colors of the vine climbing the wall it all looks very pretty.
The Plain Doorway With A Fabulous Door
Contrast that with this plainer doorway. The doorway has been cut into the block work of the wall and so doesn’t have an ornate doorway as such. But the door itself is a magnificent piece of carpentry, with wood paneling set off with a matching pair of metal door knockers.
Does this have the romance of the others I have shown so far? Not so much I think, because the overall doorway is very plain. But you have to admit it is a fabulous door.
The Church Door
I was walking up from the walk along the town walls (fabulous views of the Val D’Orcia written about in an earlier blog).
As I came up the side of the Chiesa S. Giovanni, climbing the steps up to the main square I saw this side door to the church. It was one of those moments!
Marble steps with a metal hand rail lead up to the herringbone style paving of the main square. Further marble steps lead up to the church side door. The door is a fabulous piece of wooden craftsmanship with panels and metal studs. It sits in a rectangular marble surround, under a medieval window above, the bottom of which is just visible in the image.
Now I call that romantic! With a touch of medieval history thrown in.
Wooden Door Collage
It is time I made another door collage. I enjoy making them and they are popular.
I have this wooden door collage I made a while ago. It includes the Panicale black cat by the way. But since I made the collage my ornate doorways collection has grown considerably so it is time I produced a second one.
I will add it to my to do list of things to do with my images of ornate doorways!
Where You Can Buy My Doorway Images
All of the images in my blog today are available to buy as fine art prints. Check out my RedBubble, Art Heroes and Pictorem stores to see my collection of Italian images.
I also have a calendar of Umbrian Doorways available to purchase from Amazon. Just change the country designation in the URL to where you live.
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
You can follow me on Facebook.
Thank you for reading!
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