Authenticity in Presenting History: The Influence of Ruins on Visitor’s Impressions

Abstract

Ruin is a physical occurrence, almost always present within a historical place. As a visual expression of passing time, it has a huge influence on the impressions of all the observers. The question considered in this paper is whether the feelings of the observers of historical ruins and buildings here described as follies, and later in this paper referred to as true ruins and false ruins, diminish the feeling of authenticity of a historical place in a modern setting.