[Spanish Steps, Rome] 1850 - 1860

Pietro Dovizielli captured the Spanish Steps in Rome using photography. This image embodies the way photography in the 19th century, particularly in Italy, engaged with themes of national identity and cultural heritage. Dovizielli's choice to photograph the Spanish Steps isn’t accidental. The steps themselves were built in the 18th century to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. They represent a coming together of different powers. Here we see the interplay between the church and the state. Dovizielli’s decision to frame the steps with such precision emphasizes the order and the hierarchy, the way this piece of architecture manages social traffic. Understanding this photograph fully requires historical research, archival digging, and institutional critique. What was the relationship between the Vatican and photographers like Dovizielli? And how did these images shape the rising tide of tourism at the time?