Without doubt, Piranesi’s Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities) (1784) is among the most splendid books in the Library’s collection. Piranesi died 244 years ago as of November 2022.

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A page of an old book with detailed engraving of a side portrait of a man surrounded by intricate designs
Francesco Piranesi (engraver) after Josephus Cades (artist), Portrait of G. B. Piranesi in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 1

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) was a Venetian architect who was best known for his printmaking.

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A close up image of calligraphy print on a page. Only full word in focus is 'Architetto'
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Veduta di altra parte della Camera Sepolcrale di L. Arrunzio (View of other part of the sepulchral chamber of the Arrunzio) in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 2, plate 10 (detail)

He first came to Rome in 1740 around the age of 20, and became associated with Rome for the rest of his life. His specialty was etching, a kind of printmaking that suited his labyrinthine vision.

Le Antichità Romane is a reprinting (or second edition) of a work first published in 1756, printed in Rome under the direction of Piranesi’s son Francesco Piranesi (1758–1810) in 1784.

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A page from an old book with lots of text, the heading 'Le antichita romane'
Title page to Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 1

In four very large volumes – which we call elephant folios in library language – the elder Piranesi captures the ruins of ancient Rome in great detail. They are quite something to behold – atmospheric, even melancholic. Many tell you that life and power are short. Many are peopled with tiny, everyday 18th-century Romans going about their business, living amidst the ruins.

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An old book open to show a two page spread of black and white engraved entrance with large stone pillars.
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A close up of a black and white illustration a boat with people inside docked at a harbor at a roman styled city.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Second Frontispiece of Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), volume 4, plate 2

Rome’s monuments to the dead clearly fascinated Piranesi.  

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An old book opened to a black and white etching of a cathedral.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Veduta di altra parte della Camera Sepolcrale di L. Arrunzio (View of other part of the sepulchral chamber of L’Arrunzio) in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 2, plate 10
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A black and white illustration/etching of a roman style tall stone well with people looking down it.
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A black and white illustration/etching of three men standing in a desolate street.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Veduta di altra parte della Camera Sepolcrale di L. Arrunzio (View of other part of the sepulchral chamber of L’Arrunzio) in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 2, plate 10 (details)

Many of the plates are intended to be scientific records of Roman architecture and artefacts. 

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An old book open to show a two page spread of black and white engraved concrete with different illustrations and designs 'Roma' sits at the top
G.B. Piranesi, Pianta di Roma (Map of Rome) in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol.1, plate 2

This, for example, documents remnants of a huge 3rd-century marble map of Rome that was fixed to an external wall of the Temple of Peace (Templum Pacis) in the Roman Forum. The map is known as the Forma Urbis Romae or the Severan Marble Plan. It is one of the oldest maps still, though partly, in existence. See Stanford University’s project about the map. Underneath the etching, Piranesi says that these fragments are now in the Campidoglio Museum, where they still are today, as part of the Capitoline Museum collections. Further fragments are held in other collections.

This book had the desired effect, as Piranesi was made a fellow of London’s Society of Antiquaries on the strength of his 1756 edition.

Other etchings, such as these, are pure fantasy. 

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An old book open to show a two page spread of black and white engraved ancient city.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Second Frontispiece of Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 2, plate 2
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An old book open to show a two page spread of black and white engraved city.
G.B. Piranesi, Second Frontispiece of Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 3, plate 2

Piranesi worked at a time of growing interest in Roman antiquities. Herculaneum and Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius near Naples just under 1700 years earlier, were being excavated.

Many of his plates have a sculptural quality to them, as if you could reach out and touch these fragments of ancient Rome. 

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A close up of a black and white illustration of angels and a griffin in individual boarders.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher) and Jean Barbault (etcher of the figures, 1718–1762) Iscrizioni e Frammenti delle Camere sepolcrali della Famiglia Arrunzio (Inscriptions and Fragments of the Sepulchral Chamber of the Arrunzio family, Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), volume 2, plate 15
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A close up of a black and white illustration of putti (cherubs) sitting in thick circular vines.
G.B. Piranesi (artist and etcher), Grand Urna di Porfido (Large Urn of Porphyry), in Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), vol. 2, plate 22

Piranesi’s prints have long been popular. In the eighteenth century they were sought after as a souvenir of the Grand Tour – their equivalent of a gap year for young men. These volumes are part of the Clifford Collection, a formed collection of rare books and manuscripts acquired by the Library in 1963.

This is Rare Books and Music Curator Dr Susannah Helman's latest rare book highlight – we hope you have enjoyed exploring this publication.