Monastery of St Chiara, Polla
Date
1857
Creator
Alphonse Bernoud (1820 - 1889, French) , Photographer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (print): 69mm
width (print): 132mm
height (mount): 82mm
width (mount): 172mm
width (print): 132mm
height (mount): 82mm
width (mount): 172mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Stereoscopic view of earthquake damage to Polla, Italy. Architectural study showing the damage to the Monastery of St Chiara, looking south-west. Large fissures trace the length of the west end wall.
Inscribed verso “Monastère de St. Claire (regardant le sud ouest), Polla” in ink and “page 270, p.II.” in pencil.
This illustration was reproduced as a lithograph, and in a simplified form, in Great Neapolitan Earthquake of 1857: The first principles of observational seismology as developed in the report to the Royal Society..., by Robert Mallet, 2 vols., (London, Chapman and Hall, 1862), pp.294-295. Numbered ‘Photo pl.167’ and mentioned in the text on page 295.
Inscribed verso “Monastère de St. Claire (regardant le sud ouest), Polla” in ink and “page 270, p.II.” in pencil.
This illustration was reproduced as a lithograph, and in a simplified form, in Great Neapolitan Earthquake of 1857: The first principles of observational seismology as developed in the report to the Royal Society..., by Robert Mallet, 2 vols., (London, Chapman and Hall, 1862), pp.294-295. Numbered ‘Photo pl.167’ and mentioned in the text on page 295.
Object history
With the support of the Royal Society, Mallet undertook a survey of the damage caused by the 1857 earthquake in Basilicata, in the Kingdom of Naples, to advance his theories of seismic waves. Two French photographers, Alphonse Bernoud and an unidentified man known as Grellier, were employed to photograph the affected region. For a description of Mallet's expedition and the circumstances and attributions of the photographs, see Graziano Ferrari and Anita McConnell, "Robert Mallet and the 'Great Neapolitan Earthquake' of 1857", Notes and Records of the Royal Society 59 (1) (2005), pp. 45–64.
Associated place