We had to try to walk on water! We had to see and experience the artist Christo’s latest project The Floating Piers. Therefore Lower East went to Lake Iseo in Italy on the very last day of the amazing art project.

For only sixteen days – June 18 through July 3, 2016 – Lake Iseo was reimagined. 100,000 square meters of yellow fabric, carried by a floating dock system of more than 200,000 cubes, waved quietly just above the surface of the water.

As visitors we were able experience this work of art by walking on it from Sulzano to Monte Isola and to the island of San Paolo, which was framed by The Floating Piers.

“Like all of our projects, The Floating Piers were absolutely free and open to the public,” said Christo. “There were no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. The Floating Piers were an extension of the street and belonged to everyone.”

A 3-kilometer-long walkway was created as The Floating Piers extended across the water of Lake Iseo. The piers were 16 meters wide and approximately 35 centimeters high. The fabric continued along 2.5 kilometers of pedestrian streets in Sulzano and Peschiera Maraglio.

“Those who experienced The Floating Piers felt like they were walking on water – or perhaps the back of a whale,” said Christo. “The light and water transformed the bright yellow fabric to shades of red and gold throughout the sixteen days.”

According to the Italian newspapers we saw on the day after the closing of The Floating Piers 1.4 million people visited Lake Iseo in those magic 16 days.

Photos from our wonderful Sunday on water.