(map) 
It’s an early spring day in Camogli, and so the windows have been opened just a bit, to let fresh air inside. A flowering plant has been placed on the windowsill, to capture a bit of sunshine. But wait, look closer, and you will see that the shutters, the paned glass windows, and the plant, all of them are trompe-l’oeil paintings on the façade of the building.
Welcome to Camogli, on the Ligurian coast. This colorful seaside town has, for reasons unknown, taken to painting all of its buildings with fantastic and whimsical architectural features, signs, and all sorts of things that aren’t really there.
It’s difficult for the brain to comprehend that all of this ‘stonework’ is, in reality, just paint. The details are so perfect, indicating such depth and shadowing that, unless you are there, running your hand over the wall, it is impossible to be sure. But it makes for wonderful fun to wander through this town and see what you notice. Is that a real cat in the doorway? Or maybe not…
– Contributed by Dana Kaplan, Freelance writer, proofreader, and copyeditor. Author of StresaSights, a great blog about a beautiful town.
Wonderful! Do they then have to repaint these trompe l’oeil fairly often. Must be a big business for local artists….
I asked myself that same question Tamryn… And thinking what an artistic bunch they must all be!