Saturday 5 May 2007

Opio


It's raining heavily again today...good...and I hate getting my feet wet so let me show you a view of my village from the shopping centre that I took last Autumn.
The oldest part of the village is the Church and some of the houses grouped round and was built on the hill for defensive reasons like many other villages round here. The village has since spread over the plain and the whole has become part of the ribbon development that has spread inland from the coast. Opio retained its rural character until recently by insisting that building plots were large but this is now being eaten away by a need for housing, preferably cheap housing for young people and those on lower incomes.
Much of the new development has been done with a sensitive hand, the shopping area has been beautifully planted for instance, but this, of course, depends on budget and the local administration.

11 comments:

Ming the Merciless said...

You know me, I'm not one to gossip. That said, what gossip did you hear about the MoMA people?
:-)

But seriously, I don't know anyone who works in the arts except an old friend who used to be a director of one of the departments at Christie's auction house.

Stay dry.

Dina said...

that looks like a very pretty village set up to me!!

Dsole said...

Angela, i can't believe this is a photo taken in autumn! it looks really green, and the sky so brilliant.. it could be right now!
This is such a NICE postcard for today, beautiful! ;)

Anonymous said...

I saw this red thing and clicked on the enlarged view and decided this is a gate that is open. That must mean your community is gated at night? Interesting photo and also the narrative is information.
Also thanks for visiting my blog.

isa said...

Beautiful view! Which house is yours, then? ;-)

The urban sprawl is affecting our environment too...Pretty soon, the Everglades will be paved over :-(

GMG said...

Beautiful picture of a wonderful place. It remembers me of some photos I took at Gordes, from a similar angle... Loved it.

angela said...

Abe: I took the photo from the exit to the shopping centre. The red barrier is closed at night.
One night thieves stole a digger and drove it through the window of the supermarket to get to the cash point in the shop, which had of course been emptied by the staff as the shop closed...
Things are pretty wild round here..
Ming: hush..my neighbour reads this blog..
She did tell me that once she sat next to Dali at dinner and he had the most noxious breath!
Angela

Anonymous said...

Villages on top of hills with a church in the middle are best, they look so idyllic. - Strange, it rains dans le Midi et ici, tout est trop sèche. On attend la pluie.

tut-tut said...

I'm wishing I were there in Provence; post some not-so-nice photos, so I won't feel so bad!

magiceye said...

looks lovely!!

Miguel Angel Servellón said...

It is a beautiful photography. Congratulations