The Greek Theater, Taormina 1889

Giuseppe Bruno made this photograph of the Greek Theater in Taormina, Italy, sometime in the late nineteenth century. Images like this one, mass-produced and sold as postcards, played a key role in shaping European ideas about the ancient world. The theater itself speaks to the layered history of Sicily. Originally built by the Greeks, it was remodeled and expanded by the Romans, reflecting changing political and cultural influences over centuries. Bruno’s photograph, however, was made at a time of burgeoning tourism, when the romantic appeal of ruins drew visitors from across Europe. The figure in the foreground reminds us of the human scale of history, dwarfed by the magnitude of the ruins. But the figure is also distinctly European, suggesting how these ancient sites were being reimagined and consumed through a modern, Western lens. To understand this image fully, we might turn to tourist guides, travelogues, and other documents that reveal how places like Taormina were marketed and experienced in the late 19th century.