Warsaw

" Phoenix city " Warsaw

” I woke up this morning at the other end of the Earth, under a tropical sun, far from the milky light of Warsaw illuminating Pilsudski Square, unable to look out my window to Warsaw’s Saxon Garden and the Old Town, where down in the square I can imagine the silent inhabitants of Warsaw headed toward unknown destinations. Warsaw Phoenix city Poland

The silence of Warsaw is seductive, its rhythms ordered, a contrast of the modern and avant garde with the traditional past, all watched over by the constant and imposing presence of the Palace of Culture and Science. “Kocham Warszawa” (I love Warsaw) – São Paulo , March 22th 2015 ”  Warsaw Phoenix city Poland

Another exceptional year of travel, experiences and images comes to an end.  In 2017 I have had one destination in particular : Eastern Europe, where I discovered new cities, and returned to others, like Budapest, for the first time in over 20 years.  Warsaw Phoenix city Poland

 It is very difficult for me to choose one city that symbolizes 2017, one that represents the new Eastern Europe, more vigorous than it was before, radically renewed and transformed from its past.

I have decided to grant this privilege to Warszawa (Warsaw). I have several reasons for my choice, the most important being that it was in Warsaw that I spent the most beautiful moments of 2017 and met unforgettable people.Warszawa, once called the “Paris of the East” for its beauty, was 85% destroyed in World War II, and had to be rebuilt from ashes, earning it the new name of the “Phoenix City” ever since. Warsaw Phoenix city Poland

Warszawa is a true miracle, a symbol of sacrifices made for a new Europe, one risen up from the blows of the past, assimilated with the rest of the world, and representing a universal example of resilience. In its reconstruction, the vision of the architect Mieczyslaw Kuzma was followed. Kuzma sought to rebuild the beautiful, destroyed city by adhering to its original style. For this he used photographs, engravings, and even paintings by Canaletto, who had painted Warsaw in detail.

My first trip to Warsaw in 2014 was full of magic and the singular romance of novel beauty , as all was new to me. Since then I have returned to the Polish capital to savor anew its mellow light, its quiet, orderly human rhythms, and its contrasting architectural styles, the cumulative result of years of harsh vicissitudes wrought upon it by history.

These images of Warsaw, and of its the Palace of Science and Culture from its heights lead us to the horizon of a new year.

Pablo Munini ©  Milano , December 30th 2017

Warsaw Phoenix city Poland