The Piazza del Popolo (Veduta della Piazza del Popolo), from "Vedute di Roma"

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

ca. 1750 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Until the construction of railways in Rome in the nineteenth century, visitors entered the city through the Piazza del Popolo. The area acquired its monumental profile under Pope Sixtus V, who oversaw the construction of twin churches opposite the gateway into the square and the placement of an Egyptian obelisk in the center. In Piranesi's view, the obelisk extends almost from top to bottom of the composition, dwarfing the spectators gesturing beneath it and the coaches that circulate nearby. Radiating into the distance are the three great avenues that lead - as Piranesi's caption reminds us - to three popular tourist destinations, the Piazza di Spagna, the Palazzo di Venezia, and the Porto di Ripetta.

Artist

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Date

ca. 1750

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937