Church travelled throughout Europe and the Mediterranean during the years 1867-1869, which inspired him to paint many subjects including The Parthenon (Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Jerusalem (Nelson-Atkins Museum). The present picture depicts the artist's view of an aqueduct in Tivoli. The large cloud formation at the left is one that Church experimented with during the early 1870s, and is similar to Clouds over Olana, painted in August 1872 (Olana Collection.)