For decades, the white sand beaches and sparkling green waters of Italy’s Adriatric coast has attracted Italians looking for a beach vacation. That’s changing though, and miles of white sand are slowly being reclaimed by the sea. It’s estimated that before the end of the century the beaches could disappear entirely.
German photographer Bernhard Lang, wanted document the beaches in their high-leisure heyday, and captured these amazing aerial photos of the beaches in the peak of vacation season. Perfectly lined rows of colorful umbrellas dot the sand while sun-drenched Europeans enjoy the greenish-blue waters.
Disappearing vacation spots aren’t the only impact climate change is having on Italy, far from it in fact. The rising sea water is a threat to contaminating drinking water and the water that is used to irrigate local farms as well as the inevitable flooding of Venice.
While an entire city disappearing under water and farms going without clean water to irrigate their crops is certainly a bigger deal than not having a nice piece of sand to lay one’s beach towel, Lang hopes his photos will be a reminder of the the beach’s popularity and beauty should they one day vanish.
“A few years ago, I was on a short holiday in the area, and seeing these endless rows of sunshades from the ground, I started thinking this might look interesting from above,” he says. “I preferred the distance and freedom of the aerial view, compared to lying in between the masses of geometrically arranged canvas chairs on the ground.”
If rising water starts to reclaim the sand decades from now, the photos will show the area as it once was. “If these beaches eventually disappear, the images will be evidence of the Adriatic beach culture in Italy,” Lang says. Via FastCo
