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• 1 2018-11-28T15:30:17-08:00 Cross-Section of the interior of the Basilica San Paolo fuori le Mura 12 Spaccato interno della Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, eretta da Costantino Magno, divisa in cinque Navate co’sua Crociata. Ottanta Colonne di marmo greco, venato di vario colore, quivi trasportate dal Sepolcro di Adriano Imperatore, sostentano le Navate variando di grandezza, e lavoro le laterali da quelle della Navata di mezzo. Altre Colonne dieci di Granito sono sparse per la Crociata; intorno alla quale, come ancora intorno la Navata di mezzo cronologicamente disposti si veggono li Ritratti di tutti i Sommi Pontefici Romani con altre Pitture antiche gia quasi consumate dal tempo. Il Pavimento delle Navate è formato di rotti pezzi di marmo, levati dalle Rovine di altri Edificii antichi. plain 2021-04-08T05:59:14-07:00 Title and Key: Spaccato interno della Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, eretta da Costantino Magno, divisa in cinque Navate co’sua Crociata. Ottanta Colonne di marmo greco, venato di vario colore, quivi trasportate dal Sepolcro di Adriano Imperatore, sostentano le Navate variando di grandezza, e lavoro le laterali da quelle della Navata di mezzo. Altre Colonne dieci di Granito sono sparse per la Crociata; intorno alla quale, come ancora intorno la Navata di mezzo cronologicamente disposti si veggono li Ritratti di tutti i Sommi Pontefici Romani con altre Pitture antiche già quasi consumate dal tempo. Il Pavimento delle Navate è formato di rotti pezzi di marmo, levati dalle Rovine di altri Edificii antichi. Signature: Piranesi fecit Signature 2: Presso l’Autore a Strada Felice nel palazzo Tomati vicino alla Trinità de’ monti Title and Key: Cross-section of the interior of the Basilica San Paolo fuori delle Mura built by Constantine the Great, divided in five naves by its Transept. Eighty columns made of Greek marble, variegated with various colors, transported from the Sepulcher of Emperor Hadrian, sustain the Naves varying in size, and the weight of the lateral naves from those of the central Nave. Another ten columns of Granite are spread throughout the Transept; around which and around the central Nave, are portraits of all the Roman Supreme Pontiffs arranged chronologically with other ancient Paintings that have almost been destroyed by time. The Floor of the Naves is formed from broken pieces of marble, taken from the Ruins of other ancient Buildings. Signature: Made by Piranesi Signature 2: Published by the Author in the Strada Felice in Palazzo Tomati near Trinità de Monti.

  
  This etching bears a unique title: “Cross-section of the Interior of the Basilica San Paolo fuori delle Mura.” Typically, the etchings in the Views of Rome are called views or “vedute,” as the name of the series suggests, but by using the word “cross-section” or “spaccato” in the title, Piranesi indicates to readers that the function and meaning of this image is different from the others in the volume. “Cross-section” is a technical term Piranesi employs frequently in the Antichità Romane among his other archeological and architectural publications. The term indicates a particular type of perspectival projection that is often planar and abstract in style, rendered to scale, and replete with measurements, annotations, and objective details in the key, as in the image below. 
  Similar to the image above, which shows the cross-section of an ancient tomb, the upper left corner features a “unique device of an architectural section through the nave wall” (Wilton-Ely, 31), which reveals the precise structural and spatial dimensions of the aisles. Also similar is the way that Piranesi uses different types of etching lines to indicate the texture of the wood, marble, stone, and brick. The upper level of the aisle wall, as seen in the detail below, appears as though it has been sliced in half and is particularly flat through the use of sparsely punctuated lines.
  This visual emphasis reinforces the highly technical language in the text about the distribution of weight to sustain the massive interior composed of five naves and no less than eighty marble columns. Furthermore, as art historian John Wilton-Ely notes, the interior is rendered to scale in precise mathematical perspective (Wilton-Ely, 29-31). While scale and perspective are often exaggerated in the Views of Rome, here accuracy prevails. Such attention to scale is also a typical feature of the Antichità Romane. So too is the level of objective detail in the text. Indeed, Piranesi includes a lengthy excursus on the history of the church, as well as the methods and materials used in its construction: for example, the use of Greek marble in various colors and the reuse of marble fragments to create the church floor. While this image shares many features with the archeological print, the variety of figures in the foreground, playful effects of light and shadow, and visual detail also show the vibrance of eighteenth-century life and tourism characteristic of the Views of Rome.  
  
  
  To see this image in Vedute di Roma, vol 16 of Piranesi's Opere, click here.