"Able was I ere I saw Elba" Photo

Photographer’s Note

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Elba when overthrown (the first time), inspiring the famous palindrome: "Able was I ere I saw Elba".

------------------------------------------------------

Napoleon stayed on Elba for 9 months and 21 days, being given the title "Emperor." Although he was nominally sovereign of Elba, the island was watched (more or less) by British naval patrols. Napoleon eventually escaped Elba and returned to France on February 26 for a Hundred Days before being exiled again this time to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died. French troops landed on the island on June 17, 1944.

------------------------------------------------------

A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units (such as a strand of DNA) that has the property of reading the same in either direction (the adjustment of punctuation and spaces between words is generally permitted). The word "palindrome" comes from the Greek palin (παλιν) "back" and dromos (δρóμος) "way, direction". Composing literature in palindromes is an example of constrained writing.

"ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ" on fountains; in mixed case with modern accents and divided into words this reads "Νίψον ανομήματα μη μόναν όψιν" ("Nipson anomēmata mē monan opsin"), meaning "Wash the sin as well as the face" (ps, ψ, is the single Greek letter psi).

SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS (sometimes called the sator square) is a Latin palindrome, the words of which, when written in a square, may be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, and right-to-left, as illustrated here. It's an example of word square.

S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S

The five words translate as follows:

Sator
'Sower', 'planter'
Arepo
Likely a proper name; its similarity with arrepo, from ad repo, 'I creep towards', is coincidental
Tenet
'hold'
Opera
'work', 'care', 'effort'
Rotas
'wheels'
Two possible translations of the phrase are 'The sower Arepo holds the wheels with effort' and 'The sower Arepo leads with his hand (work) the plough (wheels).'

------------------------------------------------------

Image of Marciana Alta a small medieval village on the mountains of Isola d'Elba at 375 meters. It is one of the oldest settlement of the island.
The sister town, Marciana Marina, an harbour on the coast, was evacuated in case of war or pirates, and the population found refuge at Marciana Alta.

lestans, ChrisJ, besnard, magost, tjanze, andante, PixelTerror, Emile, aloyho, designsoul, cherubin, sleon, KevRyan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lestans (15504) 2006-02-10 4:17

Bella veduta del paese!! Forse la collina dietro ha dei colori un po' innaturali, però danno l'idea di una luce particolare.
La nota è fatta benissimo! Bravo, bravo e... diligente! ;-)
Livia

ChrisJ (70443) 2006-02-10 4:31

Ciao Paolo

Superb graphism of the spur & its colorful buildings, against the dark mountain backdrop. Excellent pov, sharpness, & color. Bellisimo!

besnard (31114) 2006-02-10 4:38

Bonjour Paolo
Belle composition. Tu as fait un joli cliché de ce village de montagne. Les couleurs des maisons sont très jolies.
Merci pour le partage.
Amitiés.
Nicole

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2006-02-10 4:51

Hi Paolo
I`m not delighted with colours at the image, but the capture is great. Very interesting place. And lovely palindrom, I like it :).
Have a nice day.

Gerrit (36313) 2006-02-10 5:01

Hi Paolo,
This is a vey strong overview. The light(last rays) is suberbe and I love the colours of the village.
Thanks and regards, Gerrit

bantonbuju (48796) 2006-02-10 5:05

ciao paolo, this is such a characteristic view for italy: the small villages or towns situated on the slopes and surrounded by the mountains,
i love this compositions here with the typical colourful architecture and green mountain as a background;
best wishes, jerzy

vbbreizh (2622) 2006-02-10 5:28

Bonjour Paolo
Entre Impressionnisme et Fauvisme...quand la photographie rejoint la peinture...
Belle réussite,
Cordialement, Gilles.

devimeuxbe (56398) 2006-02-10 5:51

Hi Paolo
This picture is very colorfull and well exposed. It's nice. Good frame also.
Bertrand

tjanze (5674) 2006-02-10 7:18

Hi Paolo!
Good composititon and interesting game of light in background.You really take time too write the note.
Bravo! Greetings Vlado

rbcy1974 (20746) 2006-02-10 7:23

Hi Paolo,
Seeing the geography of the place, Its hard to believe its an island!!
I love the excellent lighting on the mountains behind and the village, very well done
regards
Daniel

starbug (6924) 2006-02-10 7:24

hi Paolo, this small town looks beautiful amongst the green hills. very nice composition, the town is cutting into the frame like a blade. very nice.
best regards
A.

andante (7092) 2006-02-10 7:28

Paolo, every line on the composition is so well seen and incorporate onto the rest of the image, that even changing the frame would disrrupt the balance. Well done, tfs.
Enrique

Cricri (43790) 2006-02-10 10:19

Bonjour Paolo,
Joli village au milieu des montagnes, bon POV,
trés belles couleurs, Merçi
Amitiés
Ciao
cricri

gaby (19793) 2006-02-10 14:53

Paolo bonsoir - que c'est beau cette diagonale du village qui traverse l'image et ce au milieu de ces superbes montagnes -
splendide comme d'habitude
Merci, bonne soirée et bon week end
Gaby

Fis2 (46449) 2006-02-10 15:44

Witaj Paolo!
Great composed landscape. Fantastic colours and light! Beautiful place. Thanks for sharing.
Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof

Emile (20151) 2006-02-10 23:27

This is a very impressive picture Paolo.
Very well captured, good POV. Colours and sharpness are excellent. Love the different colours of the buildings at the village. Very good perspective and composition. Thank you for your interesting note.
Very well done. TFS.

aloyho (6109) 2006-02-11 1:57

Hi Paolo,
You have shown great proficiency in rendering light and shade here and the colours are definately very entertaining. I love the composition of the ever changing greens and the pastel buildings sandwiched in between. Excellent shot!! Do have a nice day ahead.

PixelTerror (86861) 2006-02-11 6:13

Ciao Paolo,
An intesting view, there is definitely a Corsican something in it, I was thinking about viewing one of the numerous Corsican village photos taken by Pierre (chinchini). I like the upwards colorful diagonal formed by the houses that is a nice splash of colors against the green surroundings.
Buona fine de settimana and de-lagging !
Jean-Yves

Graal (58786) 2006-02-11 11:22

Hi Paolo,
fantastic view, I like it very much. Great composition and colours. Unusual Your note, thanks.
Aleksander

designsoul (21394) 2006-02-11 15:27

Well, that Bonaparte was damn lucky! Exiled to Elba, and I didn't know it is so spectacular, beautiful! My God, I would LOVE to be exiled there, Paolo! Could you help? ;-)
A beautiful shot again, with the splendid mountains and colourful village. Absolutely enchanting!
What does one have to do to be exiled there? Any tips? Maybe I should march to Waterloo?
sasa

kensimage (8543) 2006-02-11 20:26

A beautifully framed shot, Paolo, with very nice light. Soft colors, soft light--the whole thing feels very peaceful. It looks like a very timeless place--the shot could have been taken 200 years ago (if Canon Powershot S410's had existed then, I guess.) Regards, Ken.

erdna (5360) 2006-02-11 21:11

Terrific view of Elba! It looks like a very nice place to visit with all its history. i find the background mountain a little oversaturated though.

Andre'

jinju (14265) 2006-02-12 4:05

Hi Paolo,

fascinating note. I read it 3 times:)

As far as the photo goes, lovely POV. The way the town cuts into the mountain like an arrow is really nice. The colors of the foliage are great thanks to the lovely light.

cherubin (1969) 2006-02-12 8:07

Hi Paolo,
very nice shot of this village and the lanscape around it... and excellent note!
cherubin

rosaline (0) 2006-02-13 4:40

Hi Paolo
You have delivered a very beautiful shot here. The composition is excellent and the colours nice and rich. I like the use of light and shodow here too. Very well done.
Aubrey

isabela_sor (42493) 2006-02-13 12:17

Amazing angle, amazing picture,amazing colors
I like the way you captured this beautiful image!Indeed,fantastic this famous palindrome!
Regards
Isabela

keribar (42760) 2006-02-13 14:18

Hello Paolo,

I am really pleased to discover a picture the famous Elba island. I admit I didn't know it was so splendid with it's green lush vegetation and splendid pastel houses.

Many thanks - good shot - Izzet

sleon (9352) 2006-02-15 7:15

Hi Paolo
Interesting note to accompany this beautiful scene. I love the pastel shades of the houses and their positioning on the hill, which you have so nicely framed against the sunlit background. Bravo!
Susanna

KevRyan (22422) 2006-02-16 10:16

A stunning image Paulo - a great composition - the light is deligtful - such an interesting and beautiful looking place - and WHAT a note!!

best wishes Kev

marjan (6093) 2006-02-17 9:54

Hi Paolo, photo id excelent, good POV and nice coloures. Lesson about palidroms is fantastic. Now everione who red your notice know something about this "word game". TFS
Marjan

carper (65742) 2006-02-20 11:43

well after a look in your archive I come to this one Paolo. It is a very nice one,
with good colours and in a well made composition. well i just tell you that I like it a lot, good job.
gr. jaap

cherryripe (19187) 2006-02-20 17:03

Hi Paolo
What a picturesque village. I like it's position on the hill and in the frame and the soft light behind. The colours and details stand out so well.
Regards Nikki

andeweg (139) 2006-03-08 2:24