Photos

There are many, many photographic opportunities in the historic city of Rome. From the ruins of the Forum to the gloriously ostentatious decoration and collections of the Vatican Museums, it is easy to get blase about the statues and architecture that confronts you every time you turn a corner.

Having said that, there is often beauty to be found in the smaller, less-noticeable things, and this image is one that I came across as I was leaving the crowds that faces St Peter's Basilica. Being a few weeks before Christmas, there was a huge tree in the middle of the piazza, right next to the cross-topped obelisk. With both sited adjacent to a decorous lamppost, I thought that the shot - particularly against the dappled blue sky - seemed to sum up the city and its people. The three pillars of nature, human ingenuity and religion combined.