“In an embrace, what once felt like edges, broken lines, a tangle, turns again, almost by miracle, into a perfect circle.”
[Fabrizio Caramagna]
Simone and Martina got married in Casentino, a narrow valley set between the Pratomagno ridge and the forests of Chiusi della Verna, where the hermitage of Saint Francis still draws pilgrims. A place with an old, quiet, almost spiritual kind of presence.
Simone is from my hometown, just like many of the guests. Weddings like this feel different. You’re already part of it before you even pick up the camera, and you still are at the end of the night.
The day carried its own kind of energy. Warm, genuine, loud when it needed to be. Like just before the ceremony.
Everything was ready. Martina had just stepped out of the car, the church already full, voices spilling outside, calling her in. Her father looked at her, eyes full of emotion, and then suddenly said, “Come on, this feels like we’re about to run a race!” Only someone who truly loves you can make you laugh and choke up at the same time. And that’s exactly what this wedding was. Light and emotional, all together.
Between the ceremony and the reception at Quata Tuscany Country House, we stopped at Pieve di Romena for a series of portraits. A Romanesque gem surrounded by an open field, trees, and lavender.
It’s one of those places that’s hard to explain. You just have to be there. I had been there before, in 2021, for a concert by Einaudi, and I’ve always felt that certain places naturally draw you closer to beauty.
This wedding also meant something else to me, in a more unexpected way, because at the reception there was Stefano, Simone’s brother.
Ten years earlier, on that exact same day, I had photographed his wedding. It was 2014, and I was the second shooter, still trying to find my way. Seeing him again there gave me a very clear feeling. As if something had come full circle.
In that moment I looked back and realized I had come much further than I thought.
