Pen, Ink, Puccini, and the Internet

In 2001 my wife and I went to Tuscany and Umbria. Our itinerary came out of a book called Small Hotels and Country Inns of Italy, and every one of the book's recommendations were great. I was looking at the pics the other day and thought it might be fun--twelve years later--to compare some sketches I did then to the nearest photo approximations of the same views I could find on the web. So here they are:

Hotel di San Leonino in chianti country, 10 miles north of Siena:

Next came San Gimiginiano:

Then to Lucca, with the famous tower with the oak tree (the family crest of the nobles who built it):

Finally, Montepulciano:

So what does this have to do with Puccini? Buy me a beer someday and I'll tell you the story.

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(Author James Akers is a registered architect and illustrator with over 25 years experience. He provides both in-house and studio-based sketching, rendering, and what one might call "design stenography" services to many of NYC's and Boston’s leading architects.)