Antico Castello 1900

Giuseppe Barberis created this view of the Antico Castello, or Ancient Castle, in an engraving. The print offers us a window into 19th-century Italy, a time of great social and political upheaval as the country moved towards unification. Barberis's choice of subject matter speaks to a growing interest in national identity and heritage. Architectural images such as this one were not just about representation, but were tools in constructing a shared cultural narrative. The castle, rendered with meticulous detail, stands as a testament to a rich, complex past. Barberis seems to ask: What stories do these stones hold? What can the architecture of the past tell us about the present? While the print appears to be a straightforward depiction, it engages with broader questions of collective memory. It asks us to consider how we connect to history and how places shape identity. Barberis invites us to reflect on the interplay between the individual and the collective.