Light and shadow – the elegance of Villa d’Este in black and white

Nowhere is the play of light and shadow as intense as it is at Lake Como in the spring. During the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este weekend, Jan Baedeker wielded his trusty black and white camera and captured the most beautiful styles and moods…

It’s small wonder that Luchino Visconti, who grew up just a few hundred metres from the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este, became one of the most influential directors of Italian cinema. After you’ve witnessed the sun breaking on the gentle waves of Lake Como, and observed the steep mountain in the background cast its deep black shadow far and wide, it’s hard to shake the spectacle from your mind. Even the Concorso d’Eleganza – which is appropriately known as the most elegant automotive event in the world – owes its grandeur to the unique play of light and shadow. This is exactly what our Editor-in-Chief Jan Baedeker has tried to capture.