Piranesi’s Complete Etchings of Rome

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78) is unquestionably the most celebrated architectural engraver in history: his prints of Rome, in particular, have thrilled architects, illustrators, archeologists, historians, and collectors for centuries. The prints, more than two thousand, most drawn directly on copper plates, coming from his workshop on the Via del Corso, made him a celebrity in his day and cemented his place in our collective mental image of ancient Rome, from its best-known ruins to his imaginary prison spaces (the "carceri"). Piranesi's two volumes, the Views of Rome (Vedute di Roma) of 1745 and the Antiquities of Rome (Antichit� Romanae) of 1748 are gathered together here for the first time in a single high-quality volume to form a definitive collection of all of Piranesi's etchings of built Rome. Widely but often badly copied, Piranesi's engravings are reproduced here to the exacting standards of our Classic Reprints series and in a large (9 x 12 inches) format to ensure the highest-quality facsimile, drawing on originals from the archives of the Classical Institute of Architecture and Art's Ross Collection. This is an essential addition to the library of anyone who studies or is enamored of the splendor of ancient Rome.