Italian Landscapes - Calabria Trip, 1930

Escher's trip to Calabria from 28 April to 25 May 1930 is typical of his Italian sketching trips. Accompanied by three friends, he took the train to Pizzo, and then went on to Tropea, Scilla, and Mélito. At that point the travellers followed mule trails and dried-out river beds until they reached Pentedattilo, where they stayed several days. They then moved on to Palizzi and Stilo, Crotone, Santa Severina and Rossano, Morano and Rocca Imperiale
(Locher, 1992, p. 35).

Italian Landscapes - Calabria Trip, 1930

Between October and February, Escher produced thirteen prints - lithographs and woodcuts. The photo seen here was taken by Mark Veldhuysen on a trip to Calabria in 1989 in search of Escher's subjects. This is how he described his "discovery":

"Tropea is built high on a rock and dates back to Roman times. Its houses are built on top of and into a huge rock, and over the centuries a huge maze of little streets has been created. Since the houses on his litho are so distinct, we had no trouble finding the location. Hardly anything has changed, except for a few houses that have been replastered and a road that has been constructed over the beach. Even the old Roman aqueduct can still be seen in the distance!"
(M. Veldhuysen, 1994, p. iv).