Gezicht op het Piazza del Campo met het Palazzo Pubblico in Siena c. 1860 - 1880

This is Giorgio Sommer’s stereoscopic albumen print of the Piazza del Campo with the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. Sommer, a German photographer based in Italy, capitalized on the booming tourism industry of the 19th century, and he produced countless images catering to the aesthetic desires of European travelers. In this photograph, the imposing architecture of Siena is presented in a way that seems to collapse time, capturing both the grandeur of medieval civic power and the burgeoning culture of mass tourism. The stereoscopic format, which creates a 3-D effect when viewed through a special device, invites viewers to immerse themselves in the Italian experience. The symmetry and duplication inherent in the stereoscopic format could be seen to mirror the repetitive nature of tourism itself, and this reveals a tension between authentic experience and commodified spectacle. Here, the identities of place and person are deeply entwined with the gaze of the tourist.