Milky Way, Saturn and Jupiter

With this image I want to present you what in my opinion is one of the most beautiful places in Sicily: the Gresti or Pietratagliata castle. The castle stands on an elevated rocky ridge of arenitic nature, which for two km, in a NE-SW direction, emerges in the Gornalunga valley. In the central part, the highest spur, straddling the Canne or Gresti torrent, was used by man for its strategic position as a control and defense post. In fact, the castle constitutes an outpost or a sighting fortress for the control of a vast territory. The popular tradition knows as “Castello dei Gresti”, probably for its proximity to the Cozzo dei Gresti. The existing structure is probably of the Arab-Norman era, but in documents it appears for the first time in 1374, when the feud and the fort of Pietratagliata was assigned by Frederick III of Sicily, with a privilege, to Perronus de Iuenio.
When I arrived to the place, I found myself in the center of Sicily, surrounded by barren hills and an expanse of thistle flowers with a bright purple color that contrasted naturally with the yellow of the grass and the orange of the castle stone.

A flock of crows welcomed me with their croaking as they flew around the keep. Above, a pair of hawks controlled the countryside and occasionally went to their nest built in a rocky inlet that serves as a base for the manor. A fox passed by me while I was preparing the shot and shortly afterwards also a black snake. Once again we find ourselves in front of a place of great charm that collects in itself both the history of this wonderful land in the middle of the Mediterranean and its splendid landscapes. Together with the castle, the Milky Way with Saturn and Jupiter was filmed. Click on the second photo to see another view on this location.