Hundreds of thousands of people are flocking to Lake Iseo in Northern Italy to walk on water.

An extreme and unique art installation wrapped in bright yellow fabric, realized by the New-York-based artist Christo, has been drawing the crowds this summer.

The 4.5 km-long Floating Piers installation is attracting up to 200,000 guests a day (which is 100 times more than the host town’s population), according to Bresciaoggi.

The artwork moves with the waves as it stretches across the lake linking two islands to the mainland — transforming the otherwise tranquil island of Monte Isola into a tourist hot spot for 16 days this summer.

The free installation opened on June 18, but its popularity has exceeded organizers’ expectations.

Some 270,000 people turned up in the first five days, meaning that the attraction has had to be closed between midnight and 6 a.m. to allow for cleaning and repair of wear and tear.

Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude designed the golden walkway made from floating polystyrene docks topped with 100,000 square meters of shimmering golden yellow fabric.

The yellow path way floats in stark contrast to the green mountainous landscape that surrounds the lake.

“We chose this lake because of its marvelous location, the islands reach hundreds of meters above the sea and only 2,000 people live there,” says Bulgarian-American artist Christo, who conceived of the idea back in 1970 together with his now late wife, Jeanne-Claude.

There are few cars on Monte Isola, which is the largest island on Lake Iseo.

A ferry service connects its only town to the mainland — an apt choice for the open-air installation which the artist hopes will encourage the simple joys of taking a walk amidst all the elements of nature.

Visitors can step onto the piers at the mainland, take a brisk walk over to Monte Isola island, then hike up the hill and see the installation from above.

The more adventurous can descend on the other side of the island and continue across the water out to San Paolo, a tiny island with only one house, now framed by the installation.

After the sensory experience on the lake, the view from the mountains also gives the landscape new angles and perspectives

“There are no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. The Floating Piers are an extension of the street and belong to everyone,” says Christo.

The 16-meter-wide installation extends for three kilometers across the lake and continues along 2.5 kilometers of the narrow pedestrian streets in the lakeside villages Sulzano and Peschiera Maragl, on Monte Isola.