Floors and Walkways
Floors and sidewalks are meant to be walked on. They should be durable, flat, not slippery, easy to clean (with just rain, for the latter), and a few other qualities that will surely come to mind later. Decorative is not necessary. Here in the U.S., most of our floors, roads and sidewalks could best be described as "utilitarian." My kitchen has ceramic tile that "blends in." The rugs and floors are also monotone. Although I know a family with an inlaid wood starburst pattern on their floor, I do tend not to walk on it. We tend to decorate above waist level (of an adult, that is). There are exceptions: fancy brickwork in Seattle's Westlake Plaza, the occasional chalk art in public places, which disappears at the next rain if it isn't tracked away.
This is not so in Italy, like other places I have been in Europe. My motto has become "Look Down." One should always look down when you are in a foreign country. You get little surprises.
We just pour the concrete and go. In Italy, they put a little thought into sidewalks.
This is a walkway in Pompeii. They have been doing this a long time.
Then there are villas centuries old. The floor is going to be impressive. It had better be impressive or someone with lots of power has wasted his money. These are from the Villa D'Este in Tivoli. This first one is inside, pretty much the way all the inside floors were. Perhaps they got the most wear, so all the good stuff was in the private gardens. Or the Cardinal had a fondness for terra cotta. Or something else.
These are outside. In the rain.
File these under "Quilt Inspiration!"
(These means, however, that I will have to buy fabric that looks like marble.)
Then there are the days when looking down gives you a case of vertigo. Maybe Hitchcock was here.
posted by Marion @ 10:34 PM
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