I am a Watcher by nature as I've admitted before and Italy is a great place for people watching. Since I was a tourist, many of my destinations were populated mostly with other tourists but I did have the opportunity to observe the natives as well. I found them to be friendly and not particularly camera-shy.
Why the fascination with other people? For me, it's not the differences I look for but rather, the things we have in common. The little things I can relate to in another human being. On the surface we may not be able to speak the same language, we may have different skin color, we may not dress the same, our food preferences may be polar-opposite, but there is always some fundamental human emotion or condition to which I can relate. I may only connect with the person from afar by watching and responding internally to their body language or we may bond with a smile and a wave.
These restaurant workers in Florence rewarded me with a smile and "Buon Giorno!" while taking a break from their job:
The body language of two young lovers who came out to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence for some evening entertainment is universal and easily understood:
Two young girls sat in front of a butcher shop in Siena to rest and play with their cameras:
Sometimes I cannot help but to connect a person in an abstract way to their surroundings as well as sympathize with the body language--like this woman's obvious back pain as she leans on her cane in Montorosso al Mare:
Meanwhile, at the beach in Montorosso al Mare, a tourist soaked in the sun:
...while two others danced in the surf:
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