Vedute di Roma 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching, one of his *Vedute di Roma*, or "Views of Rome," sometime in the mid-18th century. Piranesi was not just an artist, but also an antiquarian and a print seller catering to the Grand Tourists who flocked to Rome in this period. With their emphasis on light and shadow, and their dramatic perspectives, the Vedute are not simply records, but powerful interpretations of the city’s ancient and modern monuments. Note the imposing buildings surrounding the Piazza del Campidoglio. It was designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century, but only completed in the 17th and 18th centuries. The seat of Rome’s civic government, it represents the city’s attempt to reinvent itself as a modern capital, building on its classical past. Examining Piranesi’s original etchings, and the archives of his print shop, helps us understand the complex relationship between art, tourism, and urbanism in 18th-century Rome.