Moon Sequence Above Piazza Armerina

A photo composite of multiple exposures. Piazza Armerina stands on a hill in the southern Erei mountains, in the central-eastern part of Sicily, at an altitude of 697 m. It is an ancient medieval city with a fine Baroque and Norman historic center. [Read more on Wikipedia]

From the photographer: “What caught my attention was its prime location. Taking advantage of the hills adjacent to the cathedral, it is possible to see the town in its entirety with the snow-capped Etna in the background. To make the shot more special, I waited for the moon to rise shortly after sunset and before the astronomical night, aligning itself with the dome of the cathedral. In its path, the Moon has crossed the lower layers of the atmosphere, coloring itself with shades that go from red to yellow, lighting up more and more. This condition of light and the particular alignment with the (almost) full moon, happens only for a couple of days during the year and makes the vision of this image a precious gift of nature and art. It was exciting for me to be able to witness the change in the colors of the sky until the very last solar flares illuminated and colored the white snow of the volcano pink.”

Technical details: Canon 6d, sigma 150-600mm, f/8, 8 sec, iso 100 (foreground)
Canon 6d, sigma 150-600mm, f/8, 1/200, iso 400 (moon)