Molise, tumbling, tumultuous hills rising up to meet snowy capped mountains and sweeping down into long rock-strewn rivers rumbling onto till they meet the sea.
An area so diverse not only it's natural landscape, but also the vegetation, which ranges from bamboo, and tough tangled grasses to Olive groves, with vineyards on the sloping hillsides down to orchards of Oranges and Lemons near the Adriatic coast.
Every day, no matter which direction I go, I drive past rocky outcrops, forests of mighty Oaks, bamboo, gorse, grass, and meadow.
The roads snake up and down the mountains, crossing rivers and valleys until you reach the coast.
An endless carpet of greens and browns stretched out beneath a blue sky.
Sometimes there are streaks of white cloud scattered across the sky, but often it merely blue. As the sun rises over the sea in the morning the pink veil of dawn lifts to reveal a vibrant blue, which is often exactly the shade every child uses to paint a sky... Sky Blue.
Now as the weeks roll on into Spring, the colours are becoming more vibrant as everything seems to be bursting into life.
Since I began this project I have taken more than five thousand photos, yet they do not capture the full glory of the countryside that surrounds me here in Molise.
Molise is unique because it has such a hugely diverse landscape, in such a small area, within a few miles you will see so much. It still takes my breath away when I round a corner and am met by a range of mountains, or a huge wooded hillside.
Flowers are not only bursting forth in the fields, orchards and woodland but in pots on balconies. Which you now see in abundance in every town and village bring colour to the dull, decaying buildings. Everything from Camelias and Wisteria, to Begonias and Geraniums.
Molise a land of magic for photographers, botanists, ecologists, historians, artists, writers, walkers, and just someone seeking a place to really get away from it all.
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