As we were scanning another box of late 19th century lantern slides, we came across this lovely picture of the Duomo in Florence (Firenze), Italy….
Janice thought she had taken a very similar picture on a recent holiday, and brought her photograph in so that we could compare Florence then and now…
But when we put the two images side-by-side, something seems to be missing from the older picture – several medieval buildings have mysteriously disappeared!
The illusion of the disappearing buildings is created by distance and perspective. Although the images look similar at first glance, the modern picture is taken from very much further away from the Duomo than the original, and Janice was taking her photograph from a slightly different angle. Buildings which were outside the frame of the Victorian image appear in Janice’s photograph.
Archaeology Archives Oxford 