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Snow got you down? St. John's newcomer sees the beauty in a downtown winter

It was music that brought Diego Pani to St. John's. But it was the snow that caught his eye.

Memorial University PhD student was guided by music through snowy St. John's

Ariana Kelland · CBC News ·
Diego Pani came to St. John's with his fiancée from Italy in August, to study music at Memorial University. (Submitted by Elena Cabitza)

It was music that brought Diego Pani to St. John's, and it was music that guided him and his camera through the icy, powdered streets of downtown after the first big snowfall this winter.

Pani is an ethnomusicology student at Memorial University's School of Music. He's also an amateur photographer.

"Maybe I'm still in the first phase when you enjoy snow," Pani laughed.

Fred's Records on Duckworth Street is "one of the best record stores ever," says amateur photographer Diego Pani. (Submitted by Diego Pani)

Lured by the dream of working and living in North America, paired with MUN's music program, Pani and his fiancée left a mountain village in Sardinia, Italy, for St. John's in August. 

​A big part of Pani's research is visual, he said, and St. John's has a certain "musicality in the streets."

A view looking up Beck's Cove shows a slice of colourful George Street in St. John's. (Submitted by Diego Pani )

Pani took his camera around downtown St. John's after the first big snow fall — and subsequent cleanup. 

"These are really a little tour of downtown, but in some sort of way, it was guided by music, too," Pani says of his photographs.

Diego Pani says there's something musical about Fogtown Barber & Shop on Water Street in St. John's. (Submitted by Diego Pani )

Pani stopped at Fred's Records before travelling to Water Street, where Fogtown Barber & Shop "feels like really a musical place, too."

The next stop was at the corner of George and Water Streets, where street musicians "play in the snow, in the rain, in the sun, everyday playing music for people passing by."

A shot down Prescott Street gives a clear view of St. John's harbour. (Submitted by Diego Pani)

He admits he's braced himself for the worst a St. John's winter has to offer, but says for now he's just enjoying the city. 

"Everybody says that it will be really, really hard to stay here in winter. I was expecting more cold for my first winter here."

The Duke is seen in this photo showing icy steps in downtown St. John's. (Submitted by Diego Pani )

Next time you sigh at boxed in cars and slippery streets, try and see St. John's through Diego Pani's eyes.

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