An intriguing and curious trip inside the world of colours, told through legends, stories, and anecdotes. Why do we say things like "black day," "green with envy," "white lie," "seeing red," and "feeling blue?" Why is it that green is associated with hope and blue with meditation? And why is red the colour of power? Is white really the colour of innocence or is it also...? These questions have been the focus of research by scholars, scientists, poets and "soul-searchers," and this book aims to arrive at an understanding of the symbols, meanings, history, and associations of these colours, and ultimately produce a portrait of ourselves. Concentrating almost exclusively on Western culture, Luciana Boccardi's "investigation of the rainbow" is accompanied by eloquent photographs by Vittorio Pescatori and the paintings of Ludovico De Luigi.