Plate 31: view of the column of Trajan, shown with its pedestal dug out from the earth, surrounded by buildings at the base of the Quirinal Hill, Rome, from the series 'Ruins of the antiquity of Rome, Tivoli, Pozzuoli, and other places' (Vestigi della antichità di Roma, Tivoli, Pozzvolo et altri luochi) 1606

This 1606 etching by Aegidius Sadeler II, titled *Plate 31: View of the Column of Trajan, shown with its pedestal dug out from the earth, surrounded by buildings at the base of the Quirinal Hill, Rome, from the series 'Ruins of the antiquity of Rome, Tivoli, Pozzuoli, and other places'* depicts the Column of Trajan, a Roman triumphal column erected in the early 2nd century AD. The etching shows the column in the context of its surrounding buildings, highlighting the column's unique position in the Roman landscape. The etching was part of a larger series titled *Vestigi della antichità di Roma, Tivoli, Pozzvolo et altri luochi,* which documented ancient Roman ruins and structures, demonstrating the importance of these sites to the early modern imagination. Sadeler's etching reveals the column's historical significance as a powerful symbol of Roman military prowess and imperial ambition.