Gezicht op het Momumento del Frejus aan het Piazza Statuto te Turijn, Italië 1881 - 1900

Carlo Brogi made this photograph of the Monumento del Frejus at Piazza Statuto in Turin, Italy. The photograph captures the monument erected to commemorate the construction of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, a feat of 19th-century engineering that connected France and Italy. The monument itself is a spectacle, built upon the idea of progress. Look closely at the winged figure atop a mountain of rough-hewn rocks. Consider how such monuments often reinforced narratives of national identity and technological prowess, frequently sidelining the human cost of such endeavors. Piazza Statuto, where the monument stands, was once considered the edge of Turin, a place for executions and, much later, a meeting point for migrants. This history adds a layer of complexity, a reminder of displacement and marginalization, contrasting with the monument's celebration of industrial advancement. Doesn't it make you wonder whose stories are truly being told in public spaces? What emotions are stirred when we consider what the monument chooses to remember, and what it leaves in the shadows?