Cities of Color

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Cities of Color

An open mind and a broad vision quickly discovers the individual character and special color that sets each destination apart. The chromatic features of a city are due to history, culture, customs and beliefs impacting the architecture. These gems exist on every continent shouting out their existence and inviting us to come visit.

These cities have endowed their architecture with the creativity that animates a dull, functional town into a place of vibrant beauty, making color their core characteristic. They are known as much by this as by their names.

The Pink City of Jaipur, India, is built of pink stucco/sandstone. The architect, Guru Vidyadhar, was a Hindu Priest Architect. Thus the founding of Jaipur was a ritual and an opportunity to plan an entire town according to the principles of Hindu architectural theory. The Palaces, forts, and temples, with their combination of Hindu and Muslim architecture, come alive in the rosy pink glow of early evening light.  

In Jodhpur, the old priestly castes painted their homes blue to distinguish themselves. The rest of the citizenry, Brahmins or not, took up the tradition.  Its central core is almost entirely indigo in color. The effect is breathtaking: every brick, beam and boundary has been painted in this calming shade. 

An enchanting gem at the base of the spectacular Atlas Mountains is the imperial city of Marrakech known as the “Red City” or “Al Hamra”, fascinating and rich in history and culture.

The variegated salmon pink, red, and ochre of walls, alleys, palaces and souks, create an overall rose-tinted hue. The color comes from the simplest of materials of architecture-the red earth. All construction followed one underlying design principle–Tabia-a mix of red mud and water from the Hazou plains. Juxtaposed against the emerald-green date palms and intense blue sky, the city reflects light like a huge piece of rose quartz.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, traces its history over four centuries, and is the oldest city under the US flag.  The rich cultural heritage reflects both the native Taino people and the descendants of European explorers. Located on a tiny, narrow island on the north coast, the town is linked to the mainland by three bridges. Vivid rows of houses and apartments are painted in bright primary or warm pastel colors. The owners vie in painting their homes and balconies in unique colors. Even the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage site are colorful– the blue paving bricks were shipped over from Spain during the 16^th century. In Old San Juan, it is the areas without bright, imaginative coats of paint that stand out.

The gem of the European Riviera lies in Italy, between Genoa and Pisa: Cinque Terre, (5 lands). The five seaside villages comprise a UNESCO World Heritage site. Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, were built in the Dark Ages as a safe hide-out from marauding pirates. They perch high above the glossy Mediterranean in a pile of homes, terraces and vineyards. Carefully crafted over centuries, bursting with bright color contrasting with turquoise harbors, they nestle into the rugged green cliffs, the abstract creation of a dreaming artist.  

The Bo-Kaap is a multicultural suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, on the slopes of Signal Hill. Literally “above-cape” in Afrikaans. It is quintessentially a historical legacy of the Malay Quarter. Its rich, vibrant culture is the result of a blending between East and West; of slaves from Asia, brought here by the Dutch centuries ago and European settlers.  The picturesque, cobblestoned streets yield an intriguing mix of vivid colors: pink, orange, lime green and turquoise. White cornices unify the small dwellings, contrasting with the bright shades and compensating for the flat facades, lacking in architectural elements.

A characteristic use of color is to provide relief from inhospitable and drab environments, whether chilly Arctic regions or searing desert surroundings. Here, where flowers and bushes cannot bloom, it is the buildings that provide the warmth of color and a relief from the white, gray and black colors of nature.

 The list of colorful destinations spans the globe. Each sunrise and sunset, these towns get a new fascinating look, as the colors change with the shifting of the sun’s rays.