People say that the light in Italy is special, and you only have to look at the art to appreciate the truth of this. One evening in Florence however, I witnessed this for myself. The light had been bright all day on 17th March, with a strong north wind blowing. Walking along the south bank of the River Arno, with the sun setting behind me, I was fortunately placed to capture the light on the buildings of the north side of the river, between the Ponte alla Carraia and Ponte S. Trinita.
The light had already moved off the waters of Santa Rosa weir, creating a huge contrast with the sunlit buildings on the other side of the river.
The posh hotels on the north bank of the River Arno looked very elegant in the warm light; what were they eating and drinking on the roof terrace?!
A duck flew past, flying low over the river.
The light started to get better as I walked eastwards along the river.
The Piazza Carlo Goldini – named after the Venetian playwright, whose statue can be seen in the sun – was by now in the shade.
I was getting quite excited looking at the light reflected off the buildings, through the beautiful arches of the Ponte alla Caraia, Florence
By the time I reached the Ponte alla Caraia – jogging along at this time! – the light was at it’s best; the peak of the magic hour, and I hurried onto the bridge to get some more shots looking east towards the Ponte Santa Trìnita.
I love reflections, and couldn’t help sampling this particular one, of a pale yellow building with red shutters (cropped and edited slightly).
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