Sofia is in Europe, too, as are Bourgas, Plovdiv, Varna and Veliko Turnovo. And Tryavna, Lovech, Sevlievo and Zlatograd. Twenty photographs, the winners of the Bulgarian photo competition My City in Europe (Moyat grad v Evropa/Моят град в Европа), are being exhibited in Sofia and, later, in Rome to show just how special one's daily view from the balcony can be.

The exhibition opened on November 9 2008 at the Serdika metro station in Sofia and is on until the end of the month. From November 26, the photos will also be shown at the Slavic studies faculty of la Sapienza - università di Roma. The university, founded in 700 CE, is the oldest in Europe and the second oldest in the world.

My City in Europe, a project of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and PR studio, was organised with the aim of encouraging, if not provoking, people from all corners of Bulgaria and of all ages to "search for the connection between the cultural-historic heritage of their own city and European values and symbols", a contest press release read.

This was realised though the capturing of often ephemeral, quotidian images and moments, with the jury-selected top 20 photographs expressing the "unique atmosphere and beauty of Bulgarian cities", like the covered bridge in Lovech, the central square in Kotel, a snow-blanketed Smolyan or the brightly painted turn-of-the-century buildings of Rousse. In total, more than 400 photos were submitted.

The jury selected as the overall winner Evgeni Dinev's photo of a seemingly forlorn Atanassovsko Ezero near Bourgas, the vivid rose-coloured seaside plants contrasting with the greyness of the sand and the towering haze-shrouded blocks in the background.

Second place was awarded to Georgi Georgiev for his photo of Tryavna, in which the snow-covered old town roofs and stone bridge look like something out of a Thomas Kinkade painting. Mariyan Shtegarski won third for his photo of the Lovech bridge. All winners received digital cameras of various degrees, courtesy of Media Spot.

Comprising the jury were Oleg Popov, Thomson Reuters head photographer for the Balkans; BulFoto director Evgeni Dimitrov; Alexander Petrov from photo-forum.net; photographer and Image Register director Iliyan Iliev; 24 Chasa photo reporter Roumyana Toneva; 24 Chasa journalist Georgi Milkov; Sofia municipality culture directorate director Galina Bezhanska; Ivana Passeva, Sofia municipality culture directorate head expert of galleries and museums; and Tsvetina Hristova, a Foreign Affairs Ministry representative from the information, public relations and European communications directorate.

From November 11, copies of the photos will also be on display at the garden in front of Ivan Vazov National Theatre.