Photo Of The Day: January 2, 2009

Well, you learn something new every day. For years I've been shooting Cape Cod, and I have a range of shots of Pilgrim Monument, a commemoration to the Pilgrims' first landfall in the New World. In fact, I posted a fresh photo of it just about a month ago. But this week I finally had a chance to see the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. As the film opened, it showed a scene of Siena, Italy -- and there was the Pilgrim Monument. I couldn't believe my eyes. So I did some research and found that the Pilgrim Monument was designed by Willard T. Sears after the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy, which was designed by Arguolo and Agostino in 1309. In other words, Sears simply copied the original that was designed 600 years earlier. Here's a shot I took of the monument, along with an inserted comparison shot of the original monument, kindly provided by Steve Soper, who manages a comprehensive site about Siena, Italy found here. For more shots of Pilgrim Monument,, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.