Pantheon

Silver gelatin, mounted on a contemporary support, circa 1900.

The image shows a historic 19th-century photograph of the Pantheon in Rome, as indicated by the original caption at the bottom: "Rome 4104 - Pantheon."

The photograph dates back approximately to the late 19th century (around 1883–1890). In the square in front (Piazza della Rotonda), one can see period street furniture, such as the historic iron gate around the fountain, installed in those years (1880) to protect the area. The terminus post quem for dating this photo, however, is the absence of the "ears of the Pantheon," the two Baroque bell towers designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century at the behest of Pope Urban VIII, demolished in 1883.

A photograph of the Basilica of San Lorenzo is attached to the back of the paper. On the left you can see the column surmounted by the statue of San Lorenzo, enclosed by a gate, and the esplanade in front before the modern configuration of the Piazzale del Verano.

Fratelli Alinari was the world's oldest company operating in the fields of photography, imaging, and communications, founded in Florence in 1852 by brothers Leopoldo, Giuseppe, and Romualdo Alinari. Leopoldo Alinari (1832-1865) began working for the copperplate printers Giuseppe and Luigi Bardi in Florence, and in 1854 he also created the company with his brothers Leopoldo, Romualdo (1830-1890), and Giuseppe (1836-1890), founding “Alinari Photographers Editeurs.” In 1863, the company moved to Via Nazionale. Initially, they focused on views of monuments and panoramas of Tuscan cities, later expanding to include Italian cities. The Alinari brothers also imposed a unified style on their photographers: the choice of lighting, shooting angle, and lens must provide the public with a quick and easy-to-understand reading experience. During the twentieth century, the images of the Alinari company constituted the largest source of illustrations (over 10%) for major Italian publishing houses. The archives preserve the company's heritage from the beginning of the history of photography (1839), with over 5.5 million original images.