Restanten van een straat in Pompeï, gezien richting de Vesuvius, Italië 1857 - 1914

Giorgio Sommer captured this photograph of a street in Pompeii, Italy, sometime between 1860 and 1890. Sommer, a German photographer based in Italy, catered to the burgeoning market for archaeological tourism. Think about the layers of history embedded within this image: Pompeii, a city frozen in time by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD; its rediscovery and excavation centuries later; and finally, Sommer's photographic record of it all for eager European tourists. This documentation occurred during a time of intense interest in classical antiquity. But the image also raises questions about whose stories are being told. Consider the absence of the voices and experiences of the local Italian workers who labored to unearth Pompeii's secrets, and how their contributions were often overlooked. Sommer’s photograph invites us to reflect on the complexities of cultural heritage and the power dynamics inherent in how we interpret the past.