View of the St Peter's Basilica and Piazza, the foreground with elaborate carriages 1772

Giovanni Battista Piranesi's 1772 etching "View of the St Peter's Basilica and Piazza" depicts the iconic square in Rome, with its colonnades, the towering basilica, and an obelisk in the center. Piranesi, a master of architectural and topographical prints, captured the grandeur of the space, with detailed renderings of the buildings and a lively scene of carriages and figures in the foreground. The artwork provides a glimpse into 18th-century Rome and Piranesi's fascination with the city's ancient and modern structures.