Church of S. Giorgio in Velabro - Fragments of marble sculpture, Tombs, &c., from the old Church, built into the wall.

The marble pieces display typical Roman ecclesiastical carving, with low relief figures and simple geometric panels. Weathering and the passage of time have softened details, leaving only the outlines of human forms and ornamental motifs visible against the rough, patched wall surface.

The photograph was produced between 1867 and 1870 as part of a comprehensive visual survey of Rome’s monuments, overseen by the antiquarian John Henry Parker. The project enlisted several local and foreign photographers and ultimately generated more than 3,300 images documenting sites from antiquity through the seventeenth century.

During the mid‑nineteenth century, systematic photographic documentation of historic architecture became a scholarly priority. Parker’s survey aimed to preserve visual records of monuments at risk of alteration or loss, situating this image within a broader effort to catalogue Rome’s cultural heritage.

A selection of the survey’s photographs, including this view of S. Giorgio in Velabro, is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The collection continues to serve researchers and conservators as a reference for the condition and disposition of Roman monuments in the nineteenth century.