Town smell and color

I would like to ask how do the color and the smell which characterize a town form, what constitutes them and how can be unique and recognizable for every single town. It might be true that all cities along the sea have a hint of fishy, marine smell in their own odor, but then to this a mixture of the background mountains, the local food, the air humidity, and thousand other insignificant factors is added, which all together form the unique essence of the town.

And the color. A particular light which does not depend on the occasional weather that welcomes the tourist, but rather on the reflection of the walls of the painted houses, or the iron streets for the trams and trains, or again the mountains or the sand dunes in the background.

I started this game today.

Venice: an odor of stagnant water, not salty, not moldy though, old as it would always have been there since centuries, mixed to the smell of fried pancakes and almond pastries, and noodles with clams and shellfish, and old garbage in the corners of the hidden little squares. A color of old dirty ivory, still elegant and lucent, like the frame of the gothic venetian windows reflecting in the still water.

Hamburg: a wet smell of used iron, and cars, and people, and dozens of different dishes from all over the world, and old books, and dirty corners, with a breeze that reminds green hills, yellow rape fields, and white horses. And a greyish color, like many buildings, like the tram tracks, like the sky most times.

Cape Town: the fragrance of flowers, the wind from the sea and the Antarctica, the food of the rich and of the poor. The green color of the top of Table Mountain mixed with the blue of the constantly changing sky and sea.