Artwork Information

In the 1590s, Pope Sixtus V had begun the process of transforming Rome into a Baroque city, using grand road designs to focus on basilicas and ancient monuments, such as triumphal arches and forums.

When Piranesi first settled in Rome in 1740, there was little market for his more fantastical designs, and so he began to produce smaller scale views, recording the developments that had occurred under Pope Sixtus V. They served as the equivalent of post cards, and were eagerly collected by visitors on the Grand Tour.