u/Joldersman

Villa Borghese’s paths are lined with busts of artists, scientists and historical figures. The three in these photos are Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo and Archimedes.

I love stopping to look at the faces and read the names. Some you recognise from school; others leave you wondering who they were.

The first busts were commissioned by the Roman Republic in 1849, with additions continuing into the twentieth century. The city lists 229, though some are badly damaged or missing altogether.

I photographed all the recognisable ones I could find, 181 in total, and wrote about each person. The photos and biographies are on my website, Villa Borghese Guide.

It’s completely free to use. If you’re walking around the park and wondering who someone was, you can look them up as you go. You can also browse from home. Thought a few fellow Rome enthusiasts here might enjoy it.

If you haven’t been to Rome, Villa Borghese is a large public park where you’ll find paths lined with busts of artists, writers, scientists and other historical figures. Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Archimedes, Pythagoras and Pompey are the five in these photos.

I love walking here, stopping to read the names and look closely at the faces. Some names you recognise from school. Others make you wonder who the person was and what they did to end up here.

The first busts were commissioned by the Roman Republic in 1849, and more were added well into the twentieth century. The city lists 229 busts, but quite a few are badly damaged. Some have lost their faces, and others are missing altogether.

I photographed all the ones I could find that were still recognisable, 181 in total, and wrote about each person. It took quite a bit of work, and I’ve put the photos and biographies together on my website: Villa Borghese Guide.

The guide is completely free to use. I wanted to make it easier to look up whoever you’re standing in front of during a walk, or just browse the faces and their stories from home. Sharing it here because I thought some fellow Rome enthusiasts might enjoy it.

Taken at Villa Cimbrone’s Terrazza dell’Infinito in Ravello.

If you’re visiting the Amalfi Coast, this is one place I’d personally put in the must-visit category. The views are even better in person.

It has become one of Rome’s most popular church stops lately, so I went early and managed to see it almost empty.

Crowds or not, the interior is absolutely worth seeing. The ceiling alone is extraordinary.

A few photos from Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. It’s one of those places where the landscape really makes you appreciate the scale of the Roman frontier.

Work on the wall began under Hadrian in AD 122. It ran for 80 Roman miles — about 73 modern miles (117 km) — from the Tyne to the Solway Firth.

The Romans later pushed farther north and built the Antonine Wall in Scotland, but only held that frontier for about a generation before returning south.

What struck me most was how Hadrian’s Wall follows the ridges and crags. You don’t really get a sense of that from a map.

Took these in Northumberland.

I have these 15-baht Thailand Post stamps and want to send a few regular postcards to Europe.

Does anyone know the current postage in 2026? Should I use 2 stamps (30 baht), 3 stamps (45 baht), or more?

Would especially appreciate confirmation from someone who has sent postcards from Thailand to Europe recently.

One of my favourite views of Rome, taken from the Pincian Terrace at Villa Borghese.

What I love about this viewpoint is how the city seems to be made almost entirely of rooftops, church domes and bell towers layered one behind another.

There are so many details to pick out. On the left you can even spot the low dome of the Pantheon, while far to the right, on the Janiculum Hill, is the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola.

I added two closer crops after the wide shot because it’s much easier to explore the skyline that way.

How many churches and landmarks can you identify?

Driving through Krabi and came across this view — jungle, limestone cliffs and an almost empty road disappearing into the distance.

Sometimes the drive itself ends up being one of the best parts of travelling around southern Thailand.

Vittorio Emanuele II in the foreground, one of the winged quadrigas above, and layers of sculptures and decoration everywhere in between.

I’ve passed the Vittoriano countless times, but I still like stopping and looking at the details rather than the whole monument. There’s almost too much going on in a single frame.

These are my photos from April 21, 2014, when I was lucky enough to witness one of the Pantheon’s most remarkable light effects in person.

Every year around Rome’s traditional birthday, the beam of sunlight entering through the oculus reaches the main entrance around solar noon, illuminating the doorway.

It is often described as happening at 12:00, but by the modern clock it is actually closer to 1:00 pm, since Rome is already observing daylight-saving time by late April.

Back in 2014, admission to the Pantheon was still free and there were no ticket time slots. Today, seeing the alignment requires a little more planning, as entrance is ticketed and access can sometimes be affected by religious services or special events.

The crowd was enormous, but I am still very glad I had the chance to see it with my own eyes.

All photos are mine.

The first carving shows an episode from the Ramayana: Rama and Lakshmana meeting Vibhishana, the brother of the demon king Ravana, surrounded by monkey warriors from Rama’s army.

The other two photographs show devatas — idealized celestial female figures carved throughout Angkor Wat. They are often casually called apsaras, although apsaras are usually shown dancing. The devatas here stand still, with carefully varied crowns, hairstyles, jewellery and patterned clothing.

Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century under King Suryavarman II and was originally dedicated to Vishnu. From a distance the temple is monumental, but up close much of its character is hidden in details like these.

The Vittoriano, Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, the rooftops toward the Jewish Ghetto, and even a few Roman pines catching the first light.

The photo looks peaceful, but it doesn’t capture the real Roman soundtrack: gulls screaming overhead and sirens echoing through the streets. One of those moments I never get tired of.

Not a landmark, just an ordinary balcony I noticed while walking through Venice. But these unexpected little details are often exactly why I travel — sometimes they stay with me longer than the famous sights.

I visited Su Nuraxi di Barumini while travelling around Sardinia, and it was one of the most unusual ancient sites I saw on the island.

These Bronze Age towers were built from huge basalt stones without mortar. From outside the complex looks like a dark mound, but inside it is a maze of narrow passages, chambers, towers and courtyards. Nuraghi are unique to Sardinia, which makes the site feel very different from the Greek and Roman ruins found elsewhere in Italy.

The view from the top really shows how large and complex the settlement was.

All photos are my own. Has anyone visited other Nuragic sites in Sardinia?

These were taken inside the Capitoline Museums. I love moments like this — standing almost alone in rooms this beautiful and having time to actually look, rather than being pushed along by a crowd.

The museum itself is worth visiting for far more than the famous sculptures. Some of the halls and paintings are spectacular, and the quieter atmosphere made the experience even better. Definitely recommended.

We ordered one safe classic and one purely because it sounded too unusual not to try. The Margherita was simple and familiar, while the other combined tomato, friarielli and small potato gnocchi.

It looked slightly chaotic, but the bitterness of the friarielli worked surprisingly well with the soft gnocchi and tomato. Sharing both was definitely the right decision.

Not the most obvious use for the 105mm Micro-Nikkor, but it worked really well here. From the Arc de Triomphe, the tighter framing pulled La Défense much closer and gave the whole scene a layered look that I wouldn’t have got with a wide-angle lens.

Nikon D700 + AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
105mm · 1/125s · f/8 · ISO 1600

Still one of my favourite Nikon lenses. Sharp, beautifully built, and much more versatile than its “macro lens” label suggests. What do you mainly use yours for?