Not really a typical sunny Italian summer

After the Swedish summer break, it was time to pay a visit to the north of Italy for few days - in addition to the usual weekends.
Unfortunately this summer hasn't been a typical sunny summer so far, at least for a vast area in the center-south of Europe. I could stay in Italy just ten days, and out of them I think I got 2 days, maximum 3, without rain. Any other day there was a quite heavy shower or storm, and temperatures never really rose above 20/25°C. Anyway, for someone like me that doesn't fully enjoy hot temperatures, in the end it was more than acceptable!

Only other pity was the gray sky. But with some smart post-processing effect everything can be fixed!
I must admit that I didn't really shot a lot, and in the end I might have ended up with something like 15-16 keepers... this first round is about what I've taken in Laveno Mombello on the Maggiore lake

I literally grew up on this lake, and I've spent an uncountable number of days on this exact spot looking at the ferries when I was a kid

Another constant presence in Laveno are the pigeons.... not the most attractive animals on the planet!
I worked a bit on the contrast in order to obtain this B&W effect in color, with the subject surrounded by pure white: when this picture is on a typical white web page without visible borders it appears as endless!

The only other trip during this vacation was to Sacro Monte di Varese but that's another story...