* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
Today at dawn on the beach of Gavà I have been able to capture for Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia this spectacular Etruscan vase with the magical effect of Fata Morgana.
We can appreciate the silhouette of the deformed boat as, due to the optical effect, it seems that it is flying and, moreover, inside the sun. All a marvel.
The so-called Omega effect is formed when the air, in contact with the surface, very dense and at the same time warmer, produces the refraction of light, which deforms the sun and creates the mirror effect.
When observing this optical illusion it seems that the base of the sun rests its "foot" on the horizon line that separates the sea from the sky. The writer Jules Verne had the impulse to compare this Omega effect with the shape of an Etruscan vase.
For its part, the Fata Morgana effect receives its name from the Italian fata Morgana (that is, fairy Morgana), in reference to the half-sister of King Arthur (Morgan le Fay) who, according to legend, was a changeling fairy.
It is a mirage or optical illusion that is due to a temperature inversion. Objects on the horizon, such as islands, cliffs, ships, or ice floes, take on a tall, elongated appearance, similar to fairy-tale castles.
The most famous fata morgana is produced on the southern coast of Sicily, in the Strait of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily.
References to the so-called "floating cities" off the coast of Barcelona are increasing as a result of two factors: favorable weather conditions for generating the Fata Morgana effect and, secondly, the significant traffic of large ships, whether cruise ships or merchant ships, which are in the Port of Barcelona.
