Veduta generale di Persepolis presa dalla Montagna 1858

Luigi Pesce created this photograph of the ruins at Persepolis some time during his career in the latter half of the 19th century. Pesce was an Italian artist who worked as a military officer and photographer in Persia during a time when European powers were increasing their influence in the region. Photography at this time served as both an artistic medium and a tool of documentation, often reinforcing the power dynamics between colonizers and the colonized. Images of ancient sites like Persepolis captured by European photographers contributed to the Western gaze on the East, framing its history and culture through a European lens. What stories do these stones hold? Pesce’s photograph invites us to reflect on the selective nature of historical narratives, urging us to consider whose voices are amplified and whose are marginalized in the construction of cultural memory.