![]() The Forma Urbis was gradually destroyed during the Middle Ages and used as building material for new constructions. Thanks to the Forma Urbis, we acknowledged and were able to identify the location and form of some monuments which disappeared completely over time (like the Temple of the Divine Claude) and even of some which are never mentioned by other sources, like the Adonea. According to his point of view, the plan would have decorated the aula in which other maps on papyrus, much more detailed and easier to consult and handle, would have been used for cadastral purposes. David West Reynolds, an American archaeologist, disagrees with this hypothesis as he states that the map would be impractical for utilitarian uses as it misses several features of other known roman cadastral maps, like annotations of land ownership and measurements. The function of the plan is still ignored, but many scholars believe that the map had a utilitarian purpose, such as recording land ownership in Rome like a cadastral document. However, since a legend is lacking, different hypotheses were formulated about the exact meaning of the different symbols appearing on the map. Several conventions are employed to symbolize stairs, represented through a “V”. Natural elements are omitted, (the river Tiber, for example, appears only by the absence of constructions). The plan represents all the architectural elements of Rome, the insulae (residential areas), the monuments, the horrea (warehouses), and the temples, showing a scientific attitude in the description of the built environment. It is a ground plan, not an aerial view, where buildings are almost all horizontally sectioned at the level of the ground floor with walls delineated through a single line and columns by a single point, except for some specific monuments which are represented by double lines. Oriented with the Southeast at the top and based on a scale ranging between 1:240 to 1:250, the plan describes almost the whole city located inside the pomérium, the sacred enclosure of Rome. Piranesi," Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Supplementary Volumes 4 (2006): 8.Carettoni, Gianfilippo Colini, Antonio Cozza, Lucos and Gatti, Guglielmo, eds. "The Serpent and the Stylus: Essays on G. 13ġ3Mario Bevilacqua, Heather Hyde Minor, and Fabio Barry. Batt.a Nolli, etched in 1743 and attributed to Piranesi. 12 There is a small section of Nolli’s map of Rome, entitled La Topografia di Roma di Gio. Moreover, at the same time Piranesi was working on the Prima Parte, he aided the artist Giambattista Noll i. For example, the frontispiece of the Prima Parte read as an etching to Piranesi’s audience, but in his later vedute, the style of etching almost appears to be made of brushstrokes. Piranesi made the medium of etching appear as though it was a sketch or a painting, hence a “freer” and more fluid design in his later works. Influenced by the style of Tiepolo, which epitomized the lightness and brightness of the Rococo period, Piranesi adopted some of the more painterly techniques of the masters he apprenticed under. The Prima Parte, described as “rigid” by art historian Jonathan Scott, came to be seen as a stark contrast to his later sketches, which were much lighter and freer. ![]() Piranesi’s technique employs miniscule markings and lines, intricately woven together to create a stippling effect. The detail is immaculate, and yet perspective of the piece is oddly simple and familiar to the viewer. In the Frontispiece of the Prima Parte, Piranesi’s lines are definite and exact with very little flow to them, designed in the form of traditional etching. ![]() During this time, Piranesi was still developing the unique style of etching he is known for today, and as such the Prima Parte differs significantly in technique compared to later works. The Prima Parte was a collection of twelve etchings of imaginary temples, palaces, ruins, and a prison. The first production of Piranesi’s early years in Rome and a culmination of his training under Vasi, Tiepolo, and his uncle, was the Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive (1743). 11 While Piranesi was struggling to support his architectural endeavors upon his arrival in Rome in 1740, he spent a short period of time in the studio of master painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) in addition to his apprenticeship with Giuseppe Vasi. ![]() Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Giambattista Nolli, Map of Rome, 1743, engraving (Architecture Grads)Īlthough Piranesi studied architecture in Venice, he never was able to find work in the field other than a few jobs involving remodeling in Rome. ![]()
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