Norine

We are planning a trip to Provence and Italy in December. The real purpose of the trip is to view beautiful and old villas and walls - my husband does decorative wall finishes and we are going for more ideas. Any suggestions?

jw

What an unusual question! Inside or outside walls? I don't think I can really help, other than to get this back to the top. Surely someone can, and I'll be eavesdropping on the replies. Good luck. J. p.s. Seems like a place to start might be a good public library with books on the interior design of those countries, or a book on villas. Or the architectural history of an area. Wish I could go along with you folks.

John B.

Hi:<BR>Are you thinking about murals or about wall textures and colours? If the latter Roussillon is a must visit. A stroll through any of the hilltop villages and churches will net more than than you can visually cope with! I also have some terrific web site photo references if you are interested. Some of them can be found at our Provence site at:<BR>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/provence

sandi

If you're in the Verona area, check out the beautiful frescoed walls in Piazza Bra and Erbe. Check out the link below and look at pictures #2, #4 and #5.<BR><BR>http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292427863

sandi

I just remembered that in Pompeii you can see some incredible faux finishes in some of the houses. They even did faux marble on the walls, which was all the rage at the time. That should inspire your husband. (Pompeii fresco images #48,49 & 51)

GordonB

Hi, in Pisa one of the University buildings has the most amazing scrafitti on it. Patterns scratched into the wet plaster. Only some 400 years old and looking good.<BR>I've looked it up and it's the Palazzo dei Cavalieri in Piazza dei Cavalieri.<BR>I've got a couple of pics I could email to you of this very building.<BR>Also, if you make it to Pisa you would be interested in the restoration work on the walls of the cemetery. It is a walled enclosure and the interior walls were covered in roman renaissance (I think) frescoes. These were blown off the walls by bombing in WW2. They are now in the process of piecing them back together again, possibly the world's biggest jigsaw.<BR>Drop me a line if you'd like the pics, I don't want to send them unsolicited.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Gordon

Jill

Just back from a trip to Italy, the villas aorund Lucca were incredible - amazing tromp l'oeil.

Christina

For Provence, I would suggest a good architectural tour around the center of Aix-en-Provence as it has some beautiful old buildings, including private mansions (hotels particuliers), some with courtyards and fountains. I'd just suggest you take a copy of the Michelin Green Guide which will steer you to the better examples. They have many public fountains, also, which should give ideas for decorative finishes, also.

ttt

topping for Norine and hubby