In the past year since travel opened up for Australians Robert and I have taken several journeys at home and overseas. While I posted many photos of these adventures on Facebook I want to leave a more permanent record of some of our adventures. This challenge provides me with opportunities to share my photos and stories while recording some personal history.
I plan to share photos and stories from our travels between April 2022 and March 2023. My theme this year is In Anno Itinerantur.
The theme Knockers does not refer to those people who habitually criticise others and their actions (Australian slang) but to items of door furniture. These items, usually hinged and made of metal allow visitors to an establishment to announce their arrivals and gain entry to a property.
In the days before electronic doorbells and remote door openers many homes had impressive knockers. Most of those I have encountered are in European countries but I have seen a few in the US and South America.
I have a bit of a door fetish which extends to door furniture like knockers. I dug into the year's archives to see what I had found recently. Following are
20 Something Snaps of Knockers many of which are from Italy where we spent a few weeks..
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| Somewhere in Italy |
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| Musician's house? Lerwick, Shetland Islands |
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| Note the indentation on the door, there's been some serious knocking in Siena, Italy |
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| An Egyptian influence in Siena, Italy |
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| A lion in Florence, Italy |
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| Could this be a fisherman's house in Italy |
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| I would have had trouble reaching this high knocker in Rome, Italy |
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| Not a welcoming countenance in Rome, Italy |
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| A big Cat in Rome, Italy |
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| Another Roman knocker |
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| A cheeky visage in Rome, Italy |
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| A handy knocker in Rome, Italy |
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| Door damage evident on this knocker in Rome, Italy |
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| Yet another Roman knocker |
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| One of several leonine knockers in Rome, Italy |
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| Could this be a new knocker in Italy? |
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| A simple knocker with door protection in Siena, Italy |
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| Found in Florence, Italy |
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| Surrounded by studs in Florence, Italy |
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| A substantial knocker in Lucca, Italy |
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| Looks like Granny in Trento, Italy |
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| Worse for wear in Rhodes, Greece |
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| Glowing knocker in Rhodes, Greece |
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| Simple knocker on a fancy door in Rhodes, Greece |
Beautiful and unique! Most of the doors in my hometown Calcutta had a version like the last plain one of the photos, till the 60s/70s. All my relatives lived in houses where I had to use knockers as a child. I think doorbells took over from the late 70s onwards. Some still have them, but as a feature only.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A-Z and enjoyed your post greatly. All the best for completing the challenge.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I have visited India in the past but there was so much else to focus on I didn't take many doorish pictures/
DeleteDo you have a fancy door knocker at your house that you bought as a souvenir?
ReplyDeleteAnne, We would never hear a knocker, when we renovated we went electronic.
ReplyDeleteThere are some fierce faces there! I love the Lerwick one best.
ReplyDeleteMust have been to frighten hawkers and bible bashers away
DeleteSome are stylish, some are quite lovely, some chunky, and some downright scary! I'm with Pauleen, I like the Lerwick one best and for something different, Granny is great.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection of photos Jill, well done.
Sorry, not Anonymous. Bobbie
ReplyDeleteThanks Bobbie, The change to the commenting is challenging me.
DeleteI'm with you on the admiration of door knockers. Durham Cathedral has a very famous door knocker.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I need to revisit Durham
DeleteWhat a great collection of knocker photos. I tend to take photos of doors & windows, now I need to add knockers to my list when we visit Europe.
ReplyDeleteMy A to Z Blogs
DB McNicol - Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and Significant Memories
My Snap Memories - My Life in Black & White
A wonderful selection of Knockers. We first started to notice these when on holiday in Prague and they are so photogenic. From Susan (Scotsue)
ReplyDeleteI've a few more Scottish ones in my collection Sue, Just didn't spend much time there in the past year.
DeleteI love photographing entire doors when I travel, but your focus on the door knocker is equally fascinating. I particularly love the granny from Trento!
ReplyDeleteOh Molly, I have the doors covered too. Sad isn't ti?
DeleteMy paternal grandfather's house had a large brass knocker on the main door. It was a Lion with a glorious mane and a stuffy expression :-) That is the only knocker I remember seeing in my part of the world, over a period of time. Knockers have become an aesthetic part of the decor, and the main door to the house have them out of that consideration. The utility is non-existent today.
ReplyDeleteI love how detailed you are on your travels in taking pics Jill. 20 Pictures from our archives of just Knockers is amazing. I particularly loved how you decoded who the house might belong to based on the design of the knocker :-)
I've few knockers from India, the places we have went were so visually rich that I didn't take many closeup images.
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