V. Florianello (19th century): View over the lively Piazza delle Erbe with the inhabitants of the city Verona market square, c. 1880, albumen paper print

Technique: albumen paper print

Inscription: Lower middle inscribed in the printing plate: "Piazza Erbe | Magazzino Fotografie Arche Scaligere V. Florianello Verona".

Date: c. 1880

Description: Piazza delle Erbe was the city's market and meeting place in ancient times and is still a lively square today. The elongated square is lined with richly decorated palazzo façades. The elevated camera position, presumably from a window, provides a wide-angle view that captures the passers-by on the street. Spread across the square are standing and walking people and groups, mainly men in hats and coats, some also in uniform. Some of the people in the foreground look waiting into the camera. Due to the cropped nature of the figures, it can be assumed that they were integrated into the picture at a later date. It seems to have been in the photographer's interest to depict the architecture of the city and fill it with life. Original photography with high sharpness of detail. An early example of travel photography. Around the middle of the 19th century, more and more tourists from bourgeois circles travelled to Italy. At that time, photographs could only be taken at great expense in terms of time and with expensive, unwieldy equipment. This made many tourists all the more grateful for the work of the professional photographer's studios on site, so that they could bring back a souvenir from their holiday home or collect them as mementos. Famous photographers such as Carlo Naya, Giorgio Sommer and the Alinari brothers photographed the most famous sights in their home cities and travelled themselves to photograph their customers' favourite destinations and offer them as albumen prints. Ancient art treasures were also photographed and offered to travellers. The high-quality photographs of sculptures and frescoes continued to make an important contribution to documenting the art treasures and making them accessible to scholars from all over Europe, who previously had to rely on copies or engravings if they were unable to view the original themselves.

Keywords: Italy view, documentary photography, architectural photography, travel photography, market place, palazzo, lions of St Mark, Madonna Verona, city dwellers, city life, 19th century, Historicism, Cities, Italy,

Size: Albumen paper: 20,3 cm x 25,6 cm (8 x 10,1 in)

Good condition. Slightly discoloured due to age. Sheet corners creased due to mounting. Small stains in the centre of the left and right margin.

20.3 x 25.6 cm