Orvieto – July 13, 2015 – Postcards from the road not taken

I spend a blissful afternoon taking pictures of the remarkable wooden doors of Orvieto, charmed by their different shapes and sizes. Some are massive rectangles, some feature pointed arches, and some are gently rounded with stone lintels and bronze door knockers.

Like the growth rings on a tree trunk, these doors are indelible markers of the different centuries.

Sometimes a halfway opened door or a fluttering curtain at a window will spark my curiosity. Who lives here? How many people have crossed this threshold for hundreds of years? What are their stories?

What if I had walked these same streets in the year 1200, or 1500, or 1900–perhaps the imagining is one reason why I love reading historical fiction.

These photos are the first of many images of doors and windows that will punctuate my travels around the world.