As we published in an article yesterday (here) if the conditions are right and you are in the right place at the right time, it is possible twice a year, on the 30th-31st January and the 11th-12th November to see the doppio tramonto – the double sunset viewed from outside the Duomo in Barga Vecchia.
This is when the sun drops down behind the mountains in the distance and then shines through the natural arch of the Monte Forato.
This eagerly awaited event generally draws a crowd at the Duomo as they wait for the sun to dip below the horizon, only to re-appear seconds later.
Because of the leap year this year the event falls a day earlier – 10th November and although the weather was perfect yesterday and the sun did show inside the natural arch of the Monte Forato but only partially.
This evening people were once again waiting to see the event but clouds over the mountain obscured the sun just at the crucial moment BUT in reconpence and seemingly to compensate for the disappointment, nature then went on with one of those shows which occur only very occasionally: a sunset which filled the whole sky and just got brighter and brighten as the sun slowly sunk down below the horizon.