Acquedotto del diavolo, a photo from Segovia, Castilla y Leon

Photographer's Note

Probabilmente sto esagerando con le foto di questo acquedotto, ma ho desiderato per molti anni di poterlo vedere e, appena l'ho visto, non sono rimasto assolutamente deluso, anzi, lo trovo pi� bello di come avrei potuto immaginare.

Secondo una leggenda popolare fu il diavolo, e non i romani, a costruire l'acquedotto. Una donna che lavorava come portatrice d'acqua, trasportando la propria secchia tra le strette strade della citt�, incontr� il diavolo: lei gli promise la propria anima se fosse riuscito a portare l'acqua a casa sua prima del canto del gallo. Quando scese la notte una grossa tempesta invase la citt�. Nessun cittadino, a parte la donna, sapeva che aveva origini soprannaturali, e lavorava per conto del demonio al fine di portare a termine la sua parte del contratto. Lei si pent� dell'accordo fatto e preg� tutta la notte per evitare di doverlo rispettare. Secondo la leggenda il gallo cant� poco prima che il diavolo potesse posare l'ultima pietra, per cui la sua anima fu salva.
La donna confess� il proprio peccato ai cittadini che, dopo aver spruzzato gli archi con acqua santa, furono felici di accettare la nuova aggiunta alla citt�. Convinti che fosse stato un miracolo a salvare l'anima della donna, i cittadini posero le statue della Vergine e di Santo Stefano come ricordo.

Fis2, pierrefonds, papagolf21, ikeharel, jhm, PaulVDV, ricardomattos, tyro, Royaldevon has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (113987) 2019-02-09 14:32

Ciao Carlo,non preoccuparti con l'esagerare,c'e' gente che ha fatto di peggio mostrando 30 foto sempre dello stesso posto..ehehe..a me piace moltissimo,stavolta abbiamo una vista quasi totale con tanti elementi dentro che ci fanno percepire l'imponenza dell'archittettura,ottimo lavoro. Buona Domenica,Luciano

Fis2 (132321) 2019-02-09 14:50

Witaj Carlo!
Pi瘯ny akwedukt, znakomicie pokazany.
Dobry kadr i perspektywa.
ζdne 鈍iat這 i cie�.
Dobra z dnia codziennego.
Dobranoc.
Krzysztof

pierrefonds (86354) 2019-02-09 15:38

Bonsoir Carlo,

La pr廥ence des gens a un effet d'嶰helle de grandeur. La prise de vue permet de voir les d彋ails de l'aqueduc. L'image est claire et nette. Bonne soir嶪.

Pierre

macjake (87019) 2019-02-09 22:25

Hi Carlo
oh wow! now THAT is an amazing city view, we don't see this everyday. imagine if the original builders could see it today how it sits in the city. I think they would be shocked. great shot! great subject! cheers
Craig

papagolf21 (135989) 2019-02-09 23:03

Bonjour, cher ami Carlo,
Ils 彋aient partout ces Romains. Ce monumental aqueduc passe les si鋃les et le temps sans soucis.
Un art de construire qui impressionne toujours autant.
Un grand merci pour la note d'accompagnement tr鋊 r徼ssie.
Belle pr廥entation.
Amiti廥.
Philippe

jemaflor (119062) 2019-02-09 23:56

Salut Carlo,
Superbe cet aqueduc, tr鋊 bien pr廥ent� avec ce bel effet du � cette lumi鋨e qui est id嶧le pour mettre en valeur ces arches.

annjackman (22213) 2019-02-10 0:04

Hello Carlo,
It is extraordinary how this aqueduct has been preserved so well. An amazing structure towering above the people going about their everyday lives.
Well taken and TFS.
Kind Regards, Ann

mesutilgim (109280) 2019-02-10 0:07

Hello Carlo,
Nice capture of this gigantic aquaduct in Segovia. Perfect pov and layout. Good sharpness. Many good and usefull notes as well.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

snunney (127472) 2019-02-10 0:45

Hello Carlo,
It is amazing that this magnificent aqueduct has stood here for all these centuries and is still in such good condition. Your composition shows it to such good effect. The many people enliven the scene and give scale to the structure. Good management of the rather difficult lighting conditions.

holmertz (76182) 2019-02-10 1:40

Hello Carlo,
I am pleased to see you return to this magnificent aqueduct, and once again you found a very good place to take the photo. The view of the ancient masterpiece is well complemented by the many persons in the square, who provide so much life and several splashes of red. The strong light and contrasts have given the aqueduct a good 3D effect.
Kind regards,
Gert

jhm (182502) 2019-02-10 5:24

Ciao Carlo,

This is a fantastic picture with the hight aqueduct
The people are very small against the great arches.
Wonderful done and perfect photographed.
An excellent perspective and nice panorama view.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

PaulVDV (44428) 2019-02-10 9:34

Hello Carlo,
It's a story that I read for the first time. But I was also very impressed by the Roman aqueduct.
This is a wonderful monument that lends itself to many beautiful pictures from different directions.
Always nice to present the huge aqueduct together with the nearby houses.
Best regards, Paul

emka (130617) 2019-02-10 13:55

Ciao Carlo, Classic picture of the aqueduct in Segovia. Fantastic foto. incredible that they could construct such a masterpiece two thousand years ago.
have you seen a castle in Segovia? It is also very beautiful.

Kind regards MAlgo

ricardomattos (11489) 2019-02-10 16:15

Ciao Carlo,

Fantastic and magnificent this acquedotto. You choose the best POV here to show us its beautiful arches.

Regards

Ricardo

ChrisJ (144421) 2019-02-10 23:19

Ciao Carlo

The ancient Romans were skilled and versatile architects who built structures to last. And that town had a devil of a time getting fresh water! The story ended well though. An impressive aqueduct with the people adding scale. Tfs!

tyro (27892) 2019-02-10 23:32

Ciao caro Carlo,

I can quite understand why you were so impressed by this ancient aqueduct: it is a most spectacular and impressive structure and I should love to see it too.

You have captured the scene perfectly with the diagonal line of the aqueduct making for a strong composition while other diagonals are afforded by the strong shadows across the foreground. Colourfully dressed visitors add much interest as well as providing a perfect sense of the enormous scale of this structure.

Glorious light, rich colours and impeccable details and sharpness.

Fabulous!

Kind Regards,

John.

P.S. Perhaps it was common a few centuries ago to believe that things as impressive as this might be the work of the devil. When your very own Italian virtuoso, Niccolo Paganini, could play the violin so masterfully, many people believed that he had sold his soul to the devil in return for his fantastic skills - so much so that the poor fellow was not given a Christian burial when he died - and it was many years before his body was eventually moved and buried in hallowed ground.

Cricri (149865) 2019-02-11 2:25

Ciao Carlo
WOW superbe pr廥entation, la perspective du pont aux doubles arches, les personnes donne l'嶰helle, belle pr廥entation
Bonne journ嶪
cricri

Silvio1953 (180599) 2019-02-11 3:57

Ciao Carlo, non esageri tu, hanno esagerato i Romani a farlo cos� bello, imponente opera che sfida il tempo, bella fotoconj tanta gente che fa comprendere l'imponenza di questa opera, bravo, ciao Silvio

abmdsudi (75761) 2019-02-11 5:12

Hi Carlo
An impressive brick aqueduct from ancient world built with the devil's help! It's indeed dramatic of such scale enhanced by the repeat arches, colours and superb clarity. Little wonder why this splendour becomes a touristy spot - Well done shot, Congrats
Best regards

ikeharel (94504) 2019-02-11 7:56

Found a fantastic point to take this magnificent aqueduct on picture, Carlo.
The scale by the people at its foot, old houses architecture under shadows, and the flash of light upon the subject, all marvelously appearing here.
Saluti e buona serata,
ike

rychem (61503) 2019-02-11 8:26

I can only say WOW, this is a fantastic structure and a very attractive photo, simply great
regards Ryszard

Royaldevon (58483) 2019-02-12 2:09

Ciao caro Carlo,

This is an interesting legend and a very interesting photograph! You have clearly revealed the incredible size and design of the aqueduct and made it into an attractive feature right across the frame!
I love how we can view the sky through its arches.
The many, tiny figures clearly reveal the scale of this incredible engineering project!

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

mkamionka (48635) 2019-02-12 13:39

Ciao Carlo,
beautiful aqueduct structure, photographed at great light conditions.
I like the fact that this aqueduct is located in the very centre of the town and there are a lot of people passing beneath and around. Most of such structures are away from the city rather in a wilder setting. Here it is a part of life.
Great reportage,
M