August 2024
Villach - Grado
The Ciclovia Alpe Adria Radweg is a cycle route from Villach, Austria, to Grado, Italy, following the disused Pontebbana railway. Photographs from 2023 and 2024 document abandoned stations including Tarvisio Città, Udine's Piazza della Libertà, Carinthian lakes, and Grado's calli and Basilica di Sant'Eufemia.
70 photos
Graffiti-tagged abandoned railway platform behind wire fence, Villach–Grado route, 2024 A disused railway platform stands behind a wire mesh fence along the Villach–Grado route in 2024, its brick station building marked with graffiti and its trackbed overgrown with saplings and gravel. The tag "Bad Boys" is painted across the platform edge beneath the covered canopy. 
Disused railway station canopy on the Alpe-Adria cycle route, Villach to Grado Cast-iron columns hold up the platform canopy of a disused railway station along the Alpe-Adria cycle route between Villach, Austria and Grado, Italy, photographed in black-and-white during the 2024 ride. The Ciclovia Alpe Adria Radweg follows the abandoned Pontebbana rail line, where former station platforms now serve as rest stops. 
Abandoned wooden chair on cobblestone pavement beside cast-iron lamp post, Grado, 2024 An abandoned wooden school chair stands on cobblestone paving beside a cast-iron lamp post base in Grado, Italy, photographed in black and white during a 2024 Villach–Grado cycling trip. Loose paving bricks lie scattered across the bare earth tree pit behind the chair. 
Sealed Underpass Staircase Beneath Disused Station Canopy, Villach–Grado Route, 2024 A staircase to a pedestrian underpass, blocked by welded steel mesh and railings, sits beneath a cast-iron platform canopy at a disused railway station along the Villach–Grado route in 2024. Vegetation has overgrown the brick-paved platform surrounding the sealed stairwell in this black-and-white photograph. 
Two Abandoned Chairs on Cobblestone Path Beneath Graffitied Iron Pillar, Villach 2024 Two empty chairs — a metal-framed school chair and a woven-seat bentwood chair — stand on a cobblestone path beside a graffiti-covered cast-iron pillar, photographed in black and white during the 2024 Villach–Grado journey. Loose paving bricks lie scattered across the unfinished path, which runs under a bridge structure into dense woodland. 
Two empty chairs on a brick terrace beside bare trees, Villach–Grado route, 2024 Two mismatched wooden chairs stand empty on a brick-paved terrace beside a concrete pillar and bare winter trees, photographed along the Villach–Grado route in 2024. The black-and-white frame pairs a slatted café chair with a woven rush-seat chair, both weathered and unoccupied. 
Concrete pier and underside of motorway viaduct, Villach–Grado cycling route, 2024 A reinforced-concrete bridge pier supports the twin decks of a motorway viaduct along the Villach–Grado route between Austria and Italy, photographed in 2024. The black-and-white view from beneath the viaduct shows the pier's mushroom-shaped capital with steel maintenance railings and an inspection platform. 
Disused Tarvisio Città station building and church tower, Tarvisio, Italy The abandoned Tarvisio Città railway station stands with its graffiti-covered walls and canopy along the Villach–Grado cycle route in Tarvisio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, in 2024. Tarvisio Città closed to passenger traffic after the Pontebbana line was rerouted, and its former trackbed now forms part of the Alpe-Adria cycle path. 
Wrecked Chairs and Debris on Abandoned Interior Floor, Villach–Grado Trip 2024 Broken chairs, detached seat frames and scattered debris lie across the dust-covered concrete floor of a derelict, unlit interior photographed during the Villach–Grado trip in 2024. Bent metal handrails and a corroded ventilation grille remain fixed along the rear wall of the abandoned space. 
One-eyed monster graffiti on stairwell wall in Grado, Italy A one-eyed grinning monster character painted in white outline covers a dark stairwell wall beside a scissor-gate doorway in Grado, Italy, photographed during a 2024 Villach–Grado trip. The graffiti figure stands roughly the height of the doorway above a set of worn concrete steps and a metal handrail. 
Abandoned Building Doorway with Broken Glass and Lone Chair, Villach–Grado Trip 2024 A derelict building entrance with shattered glass doors and a single office chair standing in the empty room beyond, photographed in black and white during the Villach–Grado trip in 2024. Graffiti tags cover the stone block facade flanking the doorway, where a bent metal post leans against the wall. 
Graffiti-covered arcade of an abandoned building on the Villach–Grado route, 2024 Black-and-white photograph of a derelict concrete arcade with graffiti-covered walls and empty doorways, recorded along the Villach to Grado route in 2024. Debris, fallen branches and a discarded metal cabinet lie across the covered walkway of the abandoned structure. 
Empty rest-stop marquee with beer benches beside Alpe-Adria cycle path, Villach–Grado 2024 Empty beer-tent benches stand under a marquee at a roadside rest stop on the Alpe-Adria cycle route between Villach, Austria and Grado, Italy, in 2024. The asphalt cycle path curves toward the Julian Alps past a lattice electricity pylon in this black-and-white frame. 
Cardboard police officer with "Rallenta! Slow Down!" sign on Alpe-Adria cycle path, Italy A life-size cutout of an Italian police officer holding a stop paddle marks a slow-down point on the Ciclovia Alpe Adria cycle route in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, during the 2024 Villach–Grado ride. The attached sign reads "RALLENTA! SLOW DOWN! VERLANGSAMEN" in Italian, English and German. 
Roadside filling station and inn below alpine cliffs on the Villach–Grado cycling route, 2024 A car passes a disused roadside filling station and two-storey inn at the foot of forested limestone cliffs along the 2024 Villach-to-Grado cycling route between Austria and Italy. The black-and-white frame is taken from behind a wooden picket fence across the highway. 
Roadside filling station below limestone peak on the Villach–Grado cycling route, 2024 A roadside filling station and two-storey service building stand beneath a steep limestone massif along the Villach–Grado route through the Alpine foothills between Austria and Italy, photographed in 2024. A wooden picket fence runs across the foreground, separating the grass verge from the empty forecourt in this black-and-white frame. 
Cast-iron water crane beside Alpe-Adria cycle path on Villach–Grado ride, 2024 A preserved cast-iron railway water crane stands beside the asphalt Alpe-Adria Radweg between Villach, Austria and Grado, Italy, during the 2024 cycling tour. The route follows the disused Pontebbana railway through the Fella and Tagliamento valleys, where a village church bell tower rises against forested Julian Alps slopes. 
Alpe-Adria cycle path beneath motorway viaduct in Alpine valley, Villach–Grado tour 2024 The Alpe-Adria Radweg runs beside a concrete motorway viaduct through an Alpine valley on the cycling route from Villach, Austria, to Grado, Italy, in 2024. The lane-marked asphalt path passes gabled houses and forested slopes as the route descends from the Carnic Alps toward the Adriatic. 
Alma Living Hotel roadside sign at empty Alpine car park, Villach–Grado route A freestanding "Alma Living Hotel" pylon sign with a four-star rating marks an empty roadside car park below forested mountain slopes on the Villach–Grado route through the Alps in 2024. The black-and-white frame shows the deserted asphalt lot backed by a low concrete building and an elevated highway viaduct. 
Glass Bus Shelter with Plastic Chair on Alpine Roadside, Villach–Grado Route, 2024 A glass-and-steel bus shelter stands beside a rural roadside with mountains rising behind, photographed in black and white along the Villach–Grado route in 2024. A single white plastic garden chair serves as the shelter's seating, placed next to an Italian pedestrian crossing sign. 
Roadside houses below limestone peaks on the Villach–Grado cycling route, 2024 Single-storey houses stand beside a two-lane road below forested slopes and bare limestone peaks along the Villach–Grado route through Carinthia and Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2024. A weathered concrete picket fence in the foreground frames the black-and-white view toward the Alpine ridgeline. 
Motorcyclists pass an Esso station on the Alpine road between Villach and Grado, 2024 Motorcyclists ride past a roadside Esso filling station in an Alpine valley on the route from Villach, Austria, to Grado, Italy, in 2024. A weathered wooden picket fence lines the verge in the foreground, with forested limestone ridges rising behind the road. 
Vintage railcar and deckchairs at station café stop on the Villach–Grado cycle route, 2024 A vintage diesel railcar stands beside a station platform lined with deckchairs, parasols and picnic benches at a trackside café on the Villach–Grado cycling route, summer 2024. Black-and-white view taken from beneath the café's marquee, with the Alpine ridges of the Gail and Fella valleys rising behind the train. 
Train driver's cab controls beside packed bicycle parking, Villach–Grado cycling trip 2024 A regional train driver's console with round instrument dials and a throttle lever stands in the foreground while rows of parked bicycles fill a station bike rack behind the windscreen, photographed during the 2024 Villach to Grado cycling trip. The black-and-white frame is shot from inside the driver's cab through the glass. 
Arched shuttered windows on a narrow alley facade, Grado, Italy, 2024 Black-and-white view looking up at the rendered facade of an old town house with arched, shuttered windows along a narrow alley in Grado, Italy, photographed during a 2024 Villach–Grado trip. Grado is a lagoon island town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia whose historic centre is laid out around tight pedestrian alleys called calli. 
Stone Bell Tower Framed by Narrow Alley, Northern Italian Town, Villach–Grado Route 2024 A stone church bell tower with a tall spire rises at the end of a narrow shaded alley in a northern Italian town along the Villach–Grado cycling route, photographed in 2024. Pedestrians stand in shadow beneath shuttered stone houses and a hanging street lamp in this black-and-white view. 
Cobbled alley between historic houses on the Villach–Grado route, 2024 A narrow cobbled alley runs between rendered stone houses with wooden shutters in a hillside village along the 2024 Villach-to-Grado cycle route between Austria and Italy. A central stone drainage channel runs down the middle of the cobbled lane, a traditional feature of Alpine-Adriatic village streets. 
Cobbled alley with stone-arched doorway in Alpine village between Villach and Grado, 2024 A narrow cobbled alley runs between rendered stone houses with wooden shutters and a mountain ridge visible at the end, photographed in black and white during a 2024 journey from Villach, Austria to Grado, Italy. A stone-arched doorway with a potted flowering plant anchors the left-hand facade. 
Sunlit Facade with Wooden Shutters in a Narrow Alley, Grado, Italy Wooden-shuttered windows and an ivy-covered wall line a narrow alley in Grado, Italy, photographed in black and white during a 2024 trip from Villach, Austria, to the Adriatic coast. Grado is an island town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia whose old town is laid out as a compact grid of shaded lanes called calli. 
Arched doorway and window on rendered house facade, Grado, Italy, 2024 Black-and-white study of a rendered house facade with a round-arched doorway and matching arched window in Grado, Italy, photographed during the Villach–Grado cycling trip in 2024. A drainpipe and its cast shadow divide the sunlit wall, with a lace curtain visible behind the window glass. 
Hercules statue below the Torre dell'Orologio, Piazza della Libertà, Udine, Italy The marble statue of Hercules, known locally as Florean, stands below the Torre dell'Orologio in Piazza della Libertà, Udine, Italy, photographed in black and white during a 2024 Villach–Grado journey through Friuli. The Torre dell'Orologio, completed in 1527, carries an astronomical clock and two bronze Moors that strike the hours. 
Poplar Plantation in Black and White Along the Villach–Grado Cycle Route, 2024 Rows of cultivated poplar trees rise behind tall grasses in a black-and-white landscape photographed along the Villach–Grado route between Austria and the Friuli Venezia Giulia plain in Italy, 2024. Poplar plantations are grown commercially across the Friulian lowlands near Grado for timber and paper production. 
Poplar Plantation in Black and White Along the Villach–Grado Cycling Route, 2024 Rows of slender poplar trees stand in a cultivated plantation beside the Villach–Grado cycling route through the Friuli plain, northern Italy, photographed in 2024. Poplar plantations are farmed across the Friulian lowlands for timber and plywood, planted in the straight grid rows visible here. 
Wrought-iron balcony and wall lantern on an old-town façade, Grado, Italy Black-and-white view looking up at a wrought-iron balcony and bracket-mounted wall lantern on a plastered corner building in the old town of Grado, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed during a 2024 Villach–Grado trip. Grado is a lagoon island town on the northern Adriatic, historically linked to Aquileia. 
Narrow alley with shuttered facades and wall-mounted lamp on Villach–Grado route, 2024 A narrow alley of rendered houses with wooden shutters and window boxes rises toward wooded hills, photographed in black and white during the 2024 Villach–Grado journey between Austria and Italy. A wall-mounted street lamp on an iron bracket projects across the sunlit facade above the paved lane. 
Empty red cast-iron bench against whitewashed wall, Grado, Italy An empty red-painted cast-iron and wood bench stands against a whitewashed plaster wall on a herringbone brick pavement in Grado, Italy, photographed during the Villach–Grado cycling trip in 2023. Grado is a lagoon island town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the southern terminus of the Alpe-Adria Radweg from Villach, Austria. 
Red Benches in Sunlit Vaulted Arcade, Grado, Italy Red-painted wooden benches with cast-iron frames line a whitewashed vaulted arcade in Grado, Italy, photographed during the 2023 Villach–Grado cycling trip. The barrel-vaulted colonnade opens onto a brick-paved courtyard, with arch-shaped patches of sunlight falling across the plaster wall. 
Udine castle hill portico and Duomo bell tower, Villach–Grado trip 2023 Two visitors walk below the Gothic arcaded portico on the castle hill of Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed during a Villach–Grado trip in 2023. The octagonal bell tower of Udine's Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata rises above the terracotta rooftops of the historic centre. 
Four travellers pose at a brick wall during the 2023 Villach–Grado trip Four travellers in summer clothing pose together behind a weathered brick parapet wall on the 2023 Villach–Grado trip, with tall conifers and clear sky behind them. The group is shot on colour film, the frame carrying the warm cast and soft edges typical of analogue 35mm exposures. 
Ristorante Abbazia seafood restaurant closed behind orange barriers, Grado, Italy Orange plastic construction barriers block the closed shopfront of Ristorante Abbazia, a "specialità pesce" seafood restaurant in Grado, Italy, photographed during a Villach–Grado trip in 2023. The awning of Ristorante Abbazia carries the lettering "Ristorante Abbazia – Specialità Pesce" above window posters advertising fish dishes. 
Bar Americano storefront with Tabacchino sign on cobbled street, Grado, Italy Bar Americano occupies the ground floor of an ochre building on a cobbled, pedestrianised street in Grado, Italy, photographed in June 2023 during a Villach–Grado trip. A red "Tabacchino Aperto" sign in the window marks Bar Americano as a licensed tobacco retailer, and a ZTL sign restricts vehicle access. 
Venetian-style balustraded balcony on pink townhouse facade, Grado old town, July 2023 Pink-rendered townhouse with a carved stone balustraded balcony, photographed from street level in the historic centre of Grado, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, in July 2023. Grado's old town preserves Venetian-influenced architecture dating from its centuries under the Republic of Venice. 
Pedestrians Passing Closed White Market Tents on Grado Cobblestone Square A pedestrian walks past two closed white market tents on a cobblestone square in Grado, Italy, during a Villach–Grado trip in August 2023. The tents stand shuttered against pastel apartment blocks, with wrought-iron street lamps mounted on the facade above. 
Cinema Savoia facade and balconied apartment block on a Grado street, September 2023 Mid-century apartment buildings with tiered concrete balconies line a pedestrianised street leading to the Cinema Savoia in Grado, Italy, photographed in September 2023 during a Villach–Grado trip. The Savoia cinema sign and an "Area Pedonale" zone marker identify the town's shopping street. Event marquees on the square before the Basilica of Sant'Eufemia in Grado White peaked event marquees stand on the square in front of the Basilica of Sant'Eufemia in Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The Basilica of Sant'Eufemia was consecrated in 579 AD and retains a detached stone bell tower built in the 15th century. 
Il Gazzettino and Messaggero Veneto newsstand kiosk on cobbled square, Grado, Italy A street newsstand branded Il Gazzettino and Messaggero Veneto stands unattended on a cobbled square in Grado, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed during a Villach–Grado trip in November 2023. Il Gazzettino and Messaggero Veneto are the two regional daily newspapers of north-eastern Italy. 
Narrow cobbled alley between pastel houses, Grado old town, December 2023 A narrow cobblestone alley curves between pastel-rendered residential buildings with shuttered windows and iron grilles in the old town of Grado, Italy, photographed in December 2023. A single orange-and-white traffic cone stands against the left-hand wall, the only object in the empty lane. 
Inflatable pool floats drying on curved apartment balcony, Grado, Italy Inflatable swimming pool floats hang over the railing of a first-floor balcony on a curved white apartment building in Grado, Italy, photographed on 35mm film in 2023. A giant yellow ring float and an inflatable duck dry above the building's street-level garage doors. 
Abandoned "Ristorante Dancing" roadside venue with palms near Grado, Italy An abandoned single-storey venue signed "Ristorante Dancing" stands behind an overgrown lawn on the road to Grado, Italy, photographed during the 2023 Villach–Grado cycling trip. Fan palms and concrete blocks front the derelict breeze-block building, whose faded red lettering remains legible above the open entrance. 
Electrical substation and pylons behind dry grassland on the Villach–Grado route, 2023 An electrical substation with transmission pylons and overhead power lines stands beyond a wide field of sun-bleached grass on the Villach-to-Grado route through north-eastern Italy, photographed in 2023. The switchgear enclosures run in a low line across the horizon under a hazy, cloudless sky. 
Exposed plane tree roots and fallen leaves, Villach–Grado trip, 2023 Exposed surface roots of a plane tree spread across leaf-littered ground, photographed during the Villach–Grado trip in 2023. The mottled grey-and-cream bark of the plane tree contrasts with dried brown leaves and low green ground cover. 
"Ti Amo Meggi" Graffiti and Blue Arrow Sign on Grado Street Wall Handwritten graffiti reading "Ti Amo Meggi" marks a plastered wall above a stone base on a cobbled street in Grado, Italy, photographed during a 2023 Villach–Grado trip. A blue circular Italian one-way arrow sign rests on a metal trestle wrapped in red-and-white barrier tape beside the graffiti. 
Rusted Corten Sculpture Beside Narrow Canal in Grado Old Town, Italy A weathered Corten steel sculpture on a stone plinth stands beside a narrow water channel running between pastel apartment buildings with wrought-iron balconies in the old town of Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed during the 2023 Villach–Grado trip. Graffiti tags mark the sculpture's rusted surface. 
Rows of cream beach umbrellas and Italian flag on Grado's Adriatic sand, 2023 Cream canvas beach umbrellas stand in rows over the sand of a lido in Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, during a Villach–Grado trip in 2023. An Italian tricolour flies on a pole between the umbrellas, marking the Adriatic beach concession. 
Modernist apartment balconies reflected in glass, Grado seafront architecture, Italy Reflections of a modernist concrete apartment building with curved balconies and metal railings appear in a glass balustrade in Grado, Italy, photographed on 35mm colour film during a 2024 Villach–Grado trip. Grado, a resort island town in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region on the northern Adriatic, is lined with mid-century seafront apartment blocks. 
Potted plant in recessed window of pale stucco wall, Grado, Italy A small potted plant sits on the sill of a recessed, four-pane window set into a pale stucco facade in Grado, Italy, photographed during a 2023 trip from Villach to the Adriatic coast. A perforated metal utility hatch is mounted on the wall below the window. 
Terracotta-tiled rooflines and stone walls in Grado's historic old town, 2023 Stone and rendered walls meet under terracotta pantile roofs in the narrow lanes of Grado's historic centre, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed in 2023. Grado's old town preserves early-medieval masonry around the Basilica di Sant'Eufemia quarter, where buildings press close enough to leave only a thin strip of sky. 
Roman and early Christian stone fragments mounted on lapidarium wall, Grado, Italy Carved stone fragments — capitals, column drums and inscribed marble slabs — are mounted on a plastered courtyard wall in the historic centre of Grado, Italy, photographed in 2023. Grado's old town preserves Roman and early Christian architectural spolia around the Basilica di Santa Eufemia complex, much of it displayed outdoors in open-air lapidaria. 
Adriatic Sea breaking over rocks along the Grado shoreline breakwater Waves of the Adriatic Sea break around submerged boulders off a stone breakwater at Grado, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, photographed during a 2023–24 trip from Villach, Austria. Grado sits on a barrier island in the Grado Lagoon, protected from the open Gulf of Trieste by rock revetments like the one in the foreground. 
Lakeside cycling path and bare tree at Faaker See near Villach, Carinthia A paved lakeside path curves past a bare deciduous tree along an alpine lake near Villach, Carinthia, Austria, photographed during a 2023 cycling trip from Villach to Grado, Italy. A single white sailboat sits on the water beneath forested mountain slopes and overcast sky. 
Gravel lakeside footpath along an alpine lake on the Villach–Grado route A narrow gravel footpath follows the wooded shoreline of an alpine lake near Villach, Carinthia, Austria, on the Villach-to-Grado route in 2023. A leaning deciduous tree rises from the embankment at the point where the gravel footpath meets the water. 
Rocky Alpine Lakeshore with Wooden Jetty and Mountain Ridges, Villach–Grado Route 2023 Boulders and gravel line the shallow shore of an alpine lake below forested mountain ridges, photographed on the 2023 Villach–Grado cycling route between Carinthia, Austria, and the Adriatic coast. A wooden jetty and timber footbridge cross the calm water toward the far shoreline. 
Alpine lake shoreline with wooden jetty and mountain ridges under overcast sky A grass shoreline slopes toward an alpine lake where a wooden jetty and weathered mooring posts extend into calm water, photographed on 35mm film during a 2023–2024 road trip between Villach, Austria and Grado, Italy. Forested limestone ridges and a snow-flecked massif close the far end of the valley. 
Limestone boulders and lakeside tree above Faaker See jetty, Villach, Carinthia Limestone boulders and a broadleaf tree stand on a grassy lakeshore in the Villach district of Carinthia, Austria, photographed on 35mm film during a 2023 Villach–Grado trip. A wooden bathing jetty extends into the water below the forested ridges of the Karawanks range. 
Pine leaning over clear alpine lake below limestone cliffs, Austria, 2023 A pine tree leans horizontally over the shallow, clear water of an Austrian alpine lake, with a forested limestone massif rising behind it and mirrored on the surface. The pale gravel shoreline and mountain reflection dominate the far bank on this 2023 road trip between Villach, Austria, and Grado, Italy. 
Lone Traveller Crossing Empty Railway Platform on Villach–Grado Journey, 2023 A single traveller walks along a deserted covered railway platform seen from across the tracks during the Villach–Grado trip in 2023. Concrete canopy columns frame the opposite platform, where empty benches and a shuttered station building sit under a green-tinted analogue film sky. 
Shoppers on Curved Balconies of Multi-Level Mall, Villach–Grado Trip 2024 Shoppers move along curved balconies, escalators and stairways inside a multi-level indoor shopping centre photographed during the Villach–Grado trip in 2024. The view is taken downward through white metal balustrade bars from an upper floor, with clothing stores lining the gallery below. 
Villach railway station glass hall interior with "Rio" and "de Fleur" shopfronts Backlit multi-pane glazing fills the concourse wall of Villach Hauptbahnhof, Carinthia, Austria, during a 2023–2024 road trip from Villach to Grado. Signage for the shops "Rio" and "de Fleur" runs along the stone-clad ground floor beneath the window grid. 
Lakeside path along Faaker See near Villach, Carinthia, autumn 2023 A paved lakeside walking and cycling path runs between a wire-fenced meadow and an alpine lake shore near Villach, Carinthia, Austria, during a Villach–Grado trip in 2023. A single sailing boat lies at anchor on the water below cloud-covered mountains. 
Lone rowing boat on an Alpine lake near Villach, Carinthia, Austria A single rower crosses a wind-rippled Alpine lake below forested mountain slopes near Villach, Carinthia, Austria, photographed on 35mm film during a 2023 Villach–Grado trip. Reeds and dry grasses along the shoreline foreground are divided by a wire fence running across the bank.