Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun was one of the most influential books for English and American tourists coming to Italy in the 19th century. A work of overriding symbolism rich in descriptive passages, the novel was so widely read that tourists sought out the places frequented by the characters, and travel guides to Rome, like S. Russell Forbes’ Rambles in Rome (1882), listed “Hilda’s Tower” (known in Italy as the Torre della Scimmia) as a destination. Bonnard’s film adaptation – still the only one made – makes significant changes to the plot, eliminating Miriam’s half-Jewish, potentially incestuous origins and opening with an elaborate backstory in which she’s turned into Maria, “princess of Jutland,” who becomes “Myriam” halfway through the narrative. Though the sole surviving print is incomplete, we can see that Bonnard takes advantage of Hawthorne’s Roman settings, including Hilda’s Tower and the famous scene set at the Tarpeian Rock in the Forum, though the addition of Viterbo as a location is only found in the film.