Gustav Adolf Amberger, of whom not much is known about his life, is one of those young artists who left for the Grand Tour, the tour of the main cities and areas of artistic and cultural interest considered an essential part of artistic education among the XVIII and XIX century. A fundamental destination of the trip was Italy, with its cities of art, art and antiques collections and the archaeological remains recently brought to light.

The German painter, during his stay in Italy and in particular in Sicily, reproduces on canvas, which he signs at the bottom left, the view of the ruins of the ancient Greek theater of Taormina as it appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century, leaving it visible in the background the Ionian coast on one side and the smoking peak of Etna on the other.

Although the theater is abandoned and its ruins are barely recognized, with columns and structural elements piled on the ground and partly covered by vegetation, the splendid and certainly unique position had made this place one of the favorites of the Grand Tour.

This is still the typical romantic landscape, in which nature dominates, with some signs of glorious antiquity and few human figures. On the right we see a child lying on the grass, a woman with a traditional dress and a basket, and finally a man well seated on the lawn. Close by, facing the theater and beyond towards the sea, they contemplate the landscape, letting us, external observers, perceive its grandiose beauty.