Title page to vol. IV, containing bridges, remains of theatres and arcades ... (Tomo quarto contenente i ponti antichi, gli avanzi de'teatri, de'portici ...)

In the introduction to Antichità romane, a publication that disseminated his ideas the length and breadth of Europe, Piranesi described his developing passion for antiquity:

"When I first saw the remains of the ancient buildings of Rome lying as they do in cultivated fields or gardens, and wasting away under the ravages of time, or being destroyed by greedy owners who sell them as materials for modern buildings, I determined to preserve them for ever by means of my engravings." (exhibition label, 2004)

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