Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
I just spent three days driving through the small rural villages of the Mantua countryside (Po Valley, Italy), and it truly breaks your heart to see how many farmhouses — or even what were once grand noble residences — now lie abandoned, often with collapsed roofs and walls swallowed by ivy. Seeing poplar plantations growing right inside the courtyards of these once-prosperous estates is a quietly devastating image, a reminder of how much of our rural world has been lost, perhaps irreversibly, to the relentless passage of time.
Culturally, these poplars growing in your belly are like roundworms in your intestines, or maggots feasting on your innards.
In the Po Valley, poplars are cultivated mainly for industrial timber production, as their fast growth (8–12 year cycle) makes them ideal for the paper, plywood, and panel industries. The light, easily workable wood is also widely used for fruit crates and lightweight packaging.
Note: In this photo, a polarizing filter was used.
Culturally, these poplars growing in your belly are like roundworms in your intestines, or maggots feasting on your innards.
In the Po Valley, poplars are cultivated mainly for industrial timber production, as their fast growth (8–12 year cycle) makes them ideal for the paper, plywood, and panel industries. The light, easily workable wood is also widely used for fruit crates and lightweight packaging.
Note: In this photo, a polarizing filter was used.
Last edited: