Gezicht op de Tempel van Neptunes te Paestum 1890 - 1910

Andrea Fusco Dipino created this photograph of the Temple of Neptune at Paestum. The photograph’s grey tones highlight the texture of the temple. Note the rough surfaces and imperfections of each stone, showing the labor-intensive effort required to construct this architectural marvel. Building with stone is a slow, physical undertaking. The material is heavy and unforgiving, demanding a community of skilled workers from quarrymen to masons to engineers. Building the Temple of Neptune meant a lot of manual labor was needed. Each column, each block, each stone was carefully extracted, shaped, and set in place. The marks of tools would have been evident in the stone. Photographs like this one offer a tangible connection to the past. They remind us of the work involved in such constructions, and the social contexts that give rise to monumental architecture. In this way, we can start to see the link between craft, society, and history.