Along the shore of Lake Como, Italy, an empty bench sits beneath a canopy of green, facing one of those views that seems almost purpose-built for doing absolutely nothing. Small boats drift quietly offshore while the mountains rise directly from the blue water, their overlapping ridges disappearing into the distance. Across the lake, villages seem almost impossibly small beneath the scale of the landscape.
What I love about this photograph is the perspective. We aren’t simply looking at Lake Como—the bench puts us in the position of someone who has already arrived, found the perfect spot, and decided to stay awhile. The cobblestones, old stone wall and shade of the trees make the foreground feel intimate and lived-in, while everything beyond it opens into this enormous sweep of water, mountains and sky.
And perhaps that’s what makes an empty bench in a place like this so irresistible. It represents something increasingly rare: permission to stop. There is nowhere the photograph asks you to go, nothing you need to accomplish, and no reason to hurry toward whatever comes next. For as long as you want, that seat is yours—and Lake Como will take care of the rest.
Bench Photography | Bench Photos | ©John J. Vicino