JANUARY 10, 2024 GRACE EBERT

Image © Valerio Minato

The hilltop Basilica of Superga sits directly in the center of the Monviso mountain with the moon precisely framing the pair.

Looking out from the high elevation of Castagneto Po in Italy on December 5, Valerio Minatophotographed an extraordinarily magical alignment across the way in Piemonte. Already glowing in the darkness, the hilltop Basilica of Superga sits directly in the center of the Monviso mountain with the moon precisely framing the pair.

Minato planned the perfectly positioned shot well in advance—watch the night unfold on Instagram—and explains the distinct lighting within the image. “Even though the setting moon was captured in a crescent phase, the exposure was long enough for doubly reflected earthlight, called the da Vinci glow, to illuminate the entire top of the moon,” he says. […]

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