Rome
AA-2026-A47B82
On the image
A woman in a bright yellow shirt and a carefully tied patterned scarf pauses to record her presence in Rome, a practice that in the 1970s required a camera and the belief that the ancient city really needed another snapshot. Her choice of attire suggests a vacation wardrobe carefully selected for maximum tourist visibility against a backdrop of historic stone.
Behind her, the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, an emperor who presumably had other things on his mind than posing for holiday photos, stands as it has for centuries, largely indifferent to the passing fashions. This bronze figure has seen more empires rise and fall than the average traveller has seen airport terminals.
The building beyond, with its statues casually balanced on the roofline, completes the tableau of timeless grandeur meeting temporary enthusiasm. Every generation discovers Italy anew, bringing their own distinct hairstyles and photographic techniques to capture the exact same monuments.
The historian's note
This image depicts a tourist at the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, Italy, during the 1970s. The equestrian statue in the foreground is the famous Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The original bronze statue dates to around 175 CE, though the one displayed publicly in the piazza since 1981 is a replica, with the original preserved indoors at the Capitoline Museums for protection.
The building visible behind the statue is likely the Palazzo Senatorio, or possibly the Palazzo dei Conservatori, both of which are part of the complex on Capitoline Hill designed by Michelangelo. The balustrade and roofline statues are characteristic architectural features of these Renaissance-era structures, which house Rome's civic administration and part of the Capitoline Museums. This site is a central point of Roman history and urban planning.
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Tourist at Capitoline Hill, Rome, 1970s. 1970–1979. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-A47B82. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/tourist-at-capitoline-hill-rome-1970s-a47b82.
@misc{aaAA2026A47B82,
title = {Tourist at Capitoline Hill, Rome, 1970s},
year = {1970–1979},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-A47B82},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/tourist-at-capitoline-hill-rome-1970s-a47b82}
}TY - ART TI - Tourist at Capitoline Hill, Rome, 1970s PY - 1970–1979 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-A47B82 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/tourist-at-capitoline-hill-rome-1970s-a47b82 ER -
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