Gezicht op de berg Pala di San Martino in de Dolomieten, Italië before 1878

This photogravure of the Pala di San Martino in the Italian Dolomites was made by Eugène Goblet d'Alviella, probably toward the end of the 19th century. It was a time when the European bourgeoisie had the time and money to travel and consume picturesque landscapes as a pastime. The image is part of a book, which is visible as it opens onto two pages. The photograph itself is not especially remarkable, but the book is. Note the literary, almost scientific language which accompanies the photo. This suggests that the image is of a geological formation, something that is both sublime and quantifiable. Italy, by this point in the 19th century, had become an important destination for tourists and the art world alike. Photographers were crucial in the construction of this new vision of Italy. These images can tell us a lot about the development of tourism as an industry and about the ways in which photography shaped the way people saw the world. Old travel journals or guide books can help us to understand the history of this image.