Titelprent bij een reeks voorstellingen van kerken en paleizen te Rome 1665 - 1667

This is the title page for a series of prints depicting Roman churches and palaces, created by Giovanni Battista Falda in the 17th century. During this time, Rome was being rebuilt as a stage for papal power and wealth. Falda's prints capture this transformation, presenting an idealized vision of the city's architecture. Yet, what stories do these images omit? The labor of the working class and the social inequalities that fueled such grandeur remain unseen. The prints also reflect a deeply gendered society. As sites of religious and political power, the churches and palaces were largely domains of men, with women often relegated to the domestic sphere or cloistered religious orders. Falda’s work invites us to consider whose stories are being told and whose are being erased in the grand narratives of power. Consider how these architectural representations reflect the complex interplay of power, religion, and social identity in Baroque Rome.