A few hours with Eridano
by Catia Montagna
I am originally from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, whose northern border is delimited by the Po – known in Roman times as Eridano – the widest and longest of Italian rivers. A fascinating river, the Po is the soul and lifeblood of the fertile valley that stretches from west to east across northern Italy and is one of the most important industrial and agricultural areas in Europe.
I have never lived near the river and do not visit it often. Recently I had the opportunity to spend a few hours on its banks in Boretto, at a time when it was threatening to flood the surrounding areas.
The last time I had crossed it was in the summer of 2022, the year of the worst drought the river had seen in two centuries. I was then assailed by a deep sense of anguish and anxiety that went far beyond the knowledge of the terrible consequences the drought was having on the environment and the economy of the country. Eridano was dying. To see it now so full of water was a relief, but my relief was veiled with melancholy at the known vulnerability of a river scarred by intense human activity and the effects of climate change.
I selected a film simulation setting on my Fuji camera with low saturation and good contrast. During post-production, I slightly decreased the saturation even more, mostly to reduce the blue in the sky, and adjusted the temperature slightly higher. I think the final result closely matches how I envisioned and "heard" the scenes.
Eridano is a Mythological river in direct connection with the Underworld, linked to the death of Phaeton, who fell into it. In ancient times, it was often identified with real rivers: the Rhone (Aeschylus) and the Po (in the majority of writers); others placed it in the regions of Northern Europe.
