Moon And Venus Above Saint Emiliano Tower

A photo composite of two exposures. From the photographer: “Up to now, with very few exceptions, I have photographed the places of my native land: Sicily. This time I show you some of the beauties of another splendid land in southern Italy: Puglia.

The dawn is about to be born and I have found the ideal point to resume the alignment between the sickle Moon and the planet Venus. It is a magical moment made up of smells of the countryside and intense colors like the blue of the horizon. I look forward to seeing the two stars show up in the sky and I wonder if I have correctly evaluated the alignment. The minutes pass anxiously until Venus appears on the right side of the tower. A sigh of relief, everything is going well and soon it will be the turn of the Moon to show itself in conjunction with the planet, completing the vision halfway between nature and history.

Some historical notes:
Torre Sant’Emiliano rises on the edge of a rocky spur overlooking the Salento coast that extends from Porto Badisco to Punta Palascìa. The tower most likely owes its name to the presence of a votive chapel dedicated to the saint located nearby. Like the other small circular towers of the Otranto series, concentrated in this stretch of coast, Torre Sant’Emiliano appears to be among the first towers built, probably following the massacre of 1480 due to the urgency of defending itself from Turkish threats. The tower therefore dates back to the early sixteenth century, has a truncated conical base with a diameter of 9 meters and a cylindrical upper part. Although its original shape is still easily legible, the tower would need some restoration.”

Technical details: Canon 6d, sigma 150-600mm, f/6.3, 1 sec, iso 1600 & iso 400, f/6.3, 30 sec for the landscape