On a recent trip, I snapped this photo on the town square in Sacile, Italy. The use of exterior shutters throughout Italy is magnificent. This particular picture shows wood board-and-batten shutters in all stages of rotation. We can see that when the shutters are completely open there is complete visibility and no obstruction to the window.

When closed, the wooden outdoor shutters provide absolute privacy, darkness, and protection from the outside. The shutter appear to use black iron strap hinges. Each of these shutters has a divider rail that supports a latch or bolt to secure the shutters in a closed position. The divider rail is lower than center to make it easier to reach from inside the dwelling. Functional outside shutters like these require sturdy exterior shutter hardware.