Italy

Gias Mascarone, Italy (Nov 4, 2007)

I am still working on the New Zealand photos, so in the meantime I am posting something old from my archive. This is a shot of the “gias soprano del Mascaron” from the “gias sottano”, where “soprano” means “superior” and “sottano” means inferior. Gias are the stone buildings where the herdsmen in the western Alps keep the cheese, and sleep while they are tending their herds during the summer. They are still used today, and even though they have been mostly restored, they don’t have more amenities than a century ago. No electricity, no running water, and no bathroom facility... Still people live there for a few months each year moving from the lower ones to the higher ones as the snow melts and new grass became available later in the season.

The mountain in the background is the Marguareis, which I have photographed many other times. The locals believe that the shape of the mountain resembles either the profile of an indian, or Napoleon.