There is so much to marvel at in Italy - art, language, music, landscape, and architecture for starters. In cities and villages throughout Italy the buildings are part of the beauty. They may be made of brick, stone or elegant marble. The style might be medieval, renaissance, or liberty. The style and materials always seem to combine in artful ways. When it comes to an appreciation of Italian architecture, I am especially drawn to windows.

Sometimes I wander through a town - either at home in Lucca or visiting another spot - and simply gaze at windows. Many are elegant, with lace curtains, pretty shutters, and flower boxes. Some are hung with laundry. Others appear not to have been opened for decades. The ones on ground level often have iron grates, which may be in the form of simple squares or more decorative designs.

Some windows are rustic and worn. Each has its own beauty. Sometimes it is even possible to get a glimpse inside, often revealing ceilings with beautiful beams, frescoes, and elegant light fixtures. These two little windows, in Bagno Vignoni (left) and Lucca, make me curious. I’d love to get a peek inside.

A different perspective comes when looking out through a window. The outward view may offer a slice of city street, piazza, garden, landscape, or building. Below are 2 views of Lucca and, on the right, a view from the kitchen window at Agriturismo Cretaiole near Pienza.

In any case, the view from a window always entices me out to get out and explore, to discover what is unseen just beyond the window frame.