[View of Avila, Spain]

This captivating print by the French photographer A. A. E. Disdéri shows the town walls and ancient bridge of Avilá, Spain. Avilá is a perennial tourist destination and antiquarian pilgrimage site, with its 11th- to 14th-century fortifications and Roman bridge crossing the Adaja River. Disderi’s photograph pairs the historic constructions of the city with its contemporary life, highlighting not only the bridge but also daily life along the banks of the river—the horses, handlers, and carriage atop the bridge, laundresses at the water’s edge, conversing figures at the left and, notably, the shadow of photographer and camera at bottom left corner.