All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Text edited by Rosamie Moore. Write to romapip@quipo.it (alternative e-mail address romeartlover@hotmail.it).
Notes:
Page revised in October 2015.
Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller
Wilhelm Tischbein - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the Roman countryside, in the background Cecilia Metella's tomb and Aqua Claudia
Giuseppe Vasi published between 1747 and 1761 ten books of etchings on the monuments of Rome. The plates were grouped by subject: churches, gates, bridges, palaces, villas, etc.. The books became a bestseller among the foreigners visiting Rome. Vasi then wrote a guide for visiting Rome in eight days and driven by the success of this guide he published in 1765 the Grand View of Rome, which was accompanied by a Grand View of Campo Vaccino. In 1781 he completed his work with a Map of Rome.
The View shows 390 points of interest grouped in the eight itineraries
of the guide:
Day 1
From Ponte Molle (Milvio) to S.
Croce in Gerusalemme
Day 2
From Porta
Maggiore to Villa
Borghese
Day 3
From Via del Babbuino to the S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura
Day 4
From Via di
Ripetta to Palazzo Massimi
Day 5
From S. Andrea della Valle to Isola
Tiberina
Day 6
Trastevere
Day 7
From Ponte Sisto to Ponte
Trionfale
Day 8
The Vatican
plus A Short and Delicious Digression in the Environs of Rome: From Ponte Salario to Porto
Sketch of the eight itineraries
Vasi provided not only a detailed view of Baroque Rome, but also of Ancient
Rome, Medieval Rome, Renaissance Rome and Mannerist Rome.
This site contains also some pages on the Walks in the Roman Campagna written by Ferdinand Gregorovius in the XIXth century and
on the coats of arms of the popes, with the drawings by Filippo Juvarra.
You may wish to start by having a look at a simple Map of the Walls of Rome or by seeing a sample page (Piazza Navona).
(Let's go!)
Other pages/sections which might be of interest to you:
