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• 1 2021-03-30T11:16:07-07:00 Plan of the Lower Floor of the Palace of the Caesars, believed to be the Palatine Baths 8 Pianta del piano inferiore d'una parte del Palazzo de Cesari creduta le Terme Palatine plain 2024-11-08T11:54:53-08:00 Pianta del piano inferiore d’una parte del Palazzo de Cesari creduta le Terme Palatine.; A. Peristilio, o sia Cortile con portici intorno. B. Sala nobile con aperatura rotonda nel mezzo della fornice, o volta, che illuminava il detto sito. C. Sale ottagone parimente con apertura nel mezzo della fornice. D. Gabinetti di communicazione, con volte dipinte. E. Retrostanze, che erano nobilmente ornate con marmi mischi. F. Piccioli Cavedj che in questo piano erano ornati di portici arcuati sostenuti da pilastri quadrangolari. G. Stanze corrispondenti nei portici dei detti Cavedi. H. Stanze consimili, che communicavano con una delle Sale ottagone. I. Scale che dal piano superiore, discendevano in questo. K. Sterquilinj magnifici nobilmente impellicciati di marmo, che restano segregati da tutta l’abitazione. L. Aditi di communicazione co’ portici del Peristilio, de quali si le pareti, che le volte erano nobilmente dipinte. M. Piscine, o stanze per bagni freddi anche queste impellicciate di marmo. N. Stanze consimili per bagni caldi. O. Podi o Risege ad uso di Decursorj all’intorno delle stanze formante vasche. Q Sopoditeri, o siano spogliatori. R. Stanze intermedie per Tepidarj, Sudatori, ed altro. S. Corridore con volta dipinta. T. Sale nobili di communicazione a detti bagni. V. Parti della casa consimili a quelle del piano superiore. X. Stanze al disotto de cortili pensili corrispondenti nel piano superiore. Y. Atrio nobile con indizio certo di colonnato per cui dal piano Peristilio si passava al piano inferiore del sito curvilineo creduto il teatro di Statilio Tauro. Le altre parti della casa sono gia’ descritte nella tavola antecedente.; Cav(alier) Fr(a)nc(esc)o Piranesi del(ineo) e inc(ise) 1787. Plan of the lower floor of the Palace of the Caesars, believed to be the Palatine Baths.; A. Peristyle, or Courtyard with surrounding porticoes. B. Noble hall with a round opening in the middle of the archway, or vault, that illuminated the space. C. Octagonal halls, also with an opening in the middle of the archway. D. Washrooms and corridors with painted vaults. E. Storerooms that were nobly adorned with inlaid marble decoration. F. Small courtyards on this floor were ornamented with arched porticoes sustained by quadrangular pilasters. G. Rooms corresponding to the porticoes of the aforementioned courtyards. H. Similar rooms that accessed one of the octagonal halls. I. Stairs that descended from the upper floor to this one. K. Magnificent sewers nobly covered with marble, which are separated from the rest of the house. L. Entryways that access the porticoes of the Peristyle, whose walls and vaults were nobly painted. M. Pools, or rooms for cold baths that are also covered with marble. N. Similar rooms for hot baths. O. Podium or Platforms for the use of the Cavalry around the rooms that formed the pools. Q. Double peristyle, or possibly dressing rooms. R. Intermediate rooms for the Tepidaria, Sudatoria, and others. S. Corridor with a painted vault. T. Noble halls that access the aforementioned baths. V. Parts of the house similar to those of the upper floor. X. Rooms below the exterior courtyards corresponding to the upper floor. Y. Noble Atrium with conclusive evidence of a colonnade through which one passed to the lower floor from the Peristyle, situated on the curved area believed to be the theater of Statilius Taurus. The other parts of the house have already been described in the previous plate.; Drawn and engraved by the Cavalier Francesco Piranesi. 1787.

  Beyond the differences in the visual styles of father and son, perhaps the most notable feature of this and the previous plan of the Domus Augustana—this image is of the lower floor, thought to be thermal baths—is the scale. Ruins tended to prompt either creative inspiration or quantifying analysis, either art or measurement (Pinto 2012, 3). Even in his depictions of measurement scales (see images below), Giovanni Battista often nods to the artistry of representation.  
  For Francesco, the larger scale of these two plans offers a detailed spatial scope that Giovanni Battista usually conveys in other ways.  
  
  Francesco’s close attention to this single structure, likely inspired by recent excavations of the site, is also an expansion of a small area in his father’s highly compressed map. The Pianta di Roma at the beginning of this volume—also a “pianta”—uses a much larger scale than this and the previous plan by Francesco. Compared to the “Pianta di Roma,” Giovanni Battista notes that the “forma più ampla” of the Plan of the Roman Forum allows him space “per maggior discernimento di quelche se ne abbia nella presente Topografia generale.” (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 287; Istituto Centrale per la Grafica). On this scale, and as the final images of the volume, Francesco’s plans supplement the first volume of his father’s transformative combinations of archaeological detail and creative artistry with an emphasis on objectivity. (JB)