Resilient flowers of the hot Mediterranean coasts

Summary

Luciano Abriata documents his encounters with resilient Mediterranean flowers, capturing their beauty through photography amidst challenging climates in Sicily and Sardinia.

Abstract

During his summer visits to Sicily and Sardinia, Luciano Abriata photographed a variety of flowers that thrive in the hot and sometimes harsh Mediterranean environment. Despite temperatures reaching up to 44 degrees Celsius, he found a significant number of flowers, including a wildflower with delicate purple hues, a Bougainvillea at an agriturismo, and others growing in difficult conditions such as rocks and dry pastures. Abriata's images showcase the resilience and vibrancy of these plants, adding new colors to the Mediterranean landscape. He also provides insights into the locations and conditions of his photographs, inviting readers to explore further through his other stories and medium lists.

Opinions

The author expresses admiration for the resilience of Mediterranean flora, particularly their ability to bloom in extreme heat and poor soil conditions.
Abriata is impressed by the contrast of the colorful flowers against the backdrop of the Mediterranean's blue sea and golden sand.
He finds the ability of certain flowers, like the one resembling an onion with its bulbs, to produce intricate and beautiful flowers in adverse conditions remarkable.
The author seems to value the beauty of nature, as evidenced by his extensive photography and the selection of images he chose to share.
Abriata appreciates the Greek and Roman historical context of the regions, as indicated by his mention of Greek remains and the city of Syracuse.
He is selective about promoting specific locations, such as the agriturismo, preferring to share details through private communication rather than public advertisement.
Abriata is enthusiastic about sharing his interests in nature, science, technology, programming, and DIY, inviting readers to engage with his broader body of work.

By growing and blooming these flowers add new colors to the palette dominated by the blue of the sea and the golden of the sand.

This and the previous summers I was lucky to visit two of my favorite regions of Italy. Despite the very hot weather -in Sardinia a heatwave peaked at 44 degrees Celsius during my visit- I found a quite large number of flowers. As usual, I couldn’t help taking lots of photos! I bring you here a small selection of shots along with some interesting notes.

I took the first three photos in Sicily. The first one was shot close to a saltwater pond formed at the mouth of a river as it faded into the sea, not far from the famous city of Syracuse. I mean the Greek-then-Roman-eventually-Italian city, not the American one (know more about this fascinating city at Wikipedia).

In a saltwater pond near Syracuse, Sicily. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

This next photo portraits a Bougainvillea shot in a highly recommendable agriturismo (Italian word for “farm stay hotel”). I’m not doing advertisements, so if you want to know more about this place drop me a private message or email.

Bougainvillea in a great agriturismo near Syracuse, Sicily. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

I took photos of the next violet beauty among some Greek remains that you can see in a photo inside this other story:

Near Agrigento, Sicily. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

The next set of photos were shot in Sardinia, the so-advertised “Endless Island”. This first photo was shot during an extenuating hike in the summer:

On a hiking trail near Alghero, Sardinia. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

The next photo depicts a very common flower in Europe, blooming in summer also around where I live -at least in the hottest weeks of the Swiss summer. It’s very resilient to heat and also to bad soils… see this one growing just out of the rock:

Beauty growing out of rocks near the North coast of Sardinia. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

This other one, I shot it in the middle of a large, dry, dead piece of agricultural land. It’s somehow spooky and beautiful at the same time, don’t you think?:

Thriving in the dry pastures, in Sardinia. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

And this last one is among my favorites. It’s like an onion -in fact, it has bulbs- that gives marvelously shaped flowers... if you count carefully you will discover 6 outer petals and 12 tips inside.

Bulb flowers growing in the sand right next to the sea. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

Last, this climbing plant was the only green -and pink of course- thing thriving among lots of dried-out branches from several other plants. Nice, isn’t it?

Pink and alive against dry and dead. Photo by author Luciano Abriata.

I am a nature, science, technology, programming, and DIY enthusiast. Biotechnologist and chemist, in the wet lab and in computers. I write about everything that lies within my broad sphere of interests. Check out my lists for more stories. Become a Medium member to access all stories by me and other writers, and subscribe to get my new stories by email (original affiliate links of the platform).

Resilient flowers of the hot Mediterranean coasts

By growing and blooming these flowers add new colors to the palette dominated by the blue of the sea and the golden of the sand.

Paths in nature -part 1

A selection of photos while walking in natural scenarios.