Naples: Street Scene with Costermonger, ca. 1880 – 1890

About the Work

Naples held great appeal for tourists not only because of its charming coastal scenery and awe-inspiring Mount Vesuvius, but also thanks to its customs and traditions. Particularly from the 1880s onwards, Italian-based photographers increasingly marketed milieu studies that shaped and continually fuelled the cliché of the poor but carefree population of Southern Italy. The Edizioni Brogi company, for example, issued a series entitled La vita nelle strade di Napoli (Life on the Streets of Naples) staging trade, crafts, and customs in stereotypical manner.