FotografiAMO Neveazzurra!!! That was the name of the photography contest initiated by the Distretto Turistico dei Laghi in late 2011. Within a very short time after the announcement the office was inundated with over 2000 photo entries, submitted by dozens of amateur photographers, of the lake region covered by the Distretto office. Somehow, they managed to select 51 finalists from this bounty, and then 10 winning photographs from those. The choice must have been difficult -- talk about an overabundance of riches!

My friend Filippo at the Distretto office has been so kind to send me over 30 of the finalist and winning images. The ones he sent me, with a few exceptions, focus on the Stresa, Borromeo Gulf, and Mt. Mottarone area. I think I'll post them in a few groups; let's spread out this good thing!  (continue for photos!)

Here's the first bunch, with the names of the photographers. They are not in any particular order of winning, but rather a random mix of all the winners. Click on any of the photos to see them larger.

The name FotografiAMO Neveazzurra is a little bit of a play on words: Fotografiamo being let's photograph, but Amo Neveazzurra being a slogan Distretto uses which means I love Neveazzurra. And Neveazzurra is the VCO region, this northernmost part of Piemonte, which is characterized by snow on the mountains (neve) and the azzurra (blue) color of the lakes.