Postcard from Piazza Navona II

9/13/07
8:50am

To You-Who-Are-Not-Present,

The Piazza rests in the cool shade at this hour of the morning. Unlike yesterday this is not the diffuse light of an overcast sky. The shadows that carpet the cobblestones are deep. To the West the Church of S. Agnes in Agone shines brilliantly, almost blindingly, the sun seeming to activate some radiance inside of the marble. I remember yesterday when this church loomed, concealed in umbrage.
The Piazza is nearly empty of pedestrians now. The benches stand bare. There is a residue of calm that still clings to the chilled stones. The few people that do move through this place do so with purpose, striding past the autumnal forest of collapsed umbrellas that stand on the East side of the square.
The most striking impression at this time is the sky. It is a luminous and pale blue that contrasts sharply with the deeply shadowed square.