From the ancient hilltop church of San Miniato al Monte, all of Florence spreads below in this sweeping albumen cabinet card — the Arno curving lazily through the city, the Ponte Vecchio visible at left, and the magnificent dome of Brunelleschi's cathedral commanding the skyline at right, exactly as generations of Grand Tour travelers would have ascended to admire it. This photograph was published by Georges Sommer, the celebrated Frankfurt-born photographer who established himself in Naples and became one of the most prolific and prestigious suppliers of souvenir views for nineteenth-century European travelers. Numbered 2900 in his vast catalog, the image is a classic of the genre — crisp, well-exposed, and evocative of an Italy that has barely changed in 150 years. The back bears Sommer's elegant laurel-medal stamp noting his grandes médailles d'or.