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• 1 2021-03-30T11:16:08-07:00 Plan of the Castrum of Tiberius 9 Pianta della forma del Castro di Tiberio innanzi al suo disfacimento plain 2024-11-08T11:44:06-08:00 Pianta della forma del Castro di Tiberio innanzi al suo disfacimento.; 1. Porta di Aureliano oggi chiusa. 2. Mura dello stesso. 3. Via Selciata. 4. Muro rifatto da moderni. 5. Andamento del Castro. 6. Abitazioni rifatte posteriorm(en)te a Costantino. 7. Fabrica di Costantino su gl’angoli curvilinei di Tiberio. 8.9. Porte di Costantino munite nell’interno di vanguardie da Bellisario, allorche ingrossò il muro. 10. Avanzo di via Selciata. 11. Castro rovinato. A. Pianta della forma del Castro di Tiberio innanzi al suo disfacimento, la quale si è rivelata da suoi avanzi, e dal Prospetto, che si vede nel basso rilievo dell’Arco di Costantino, dalle Medaglie, e dagli antichi Scrittori. B. Guardie o siano ingressi muniti di torri circolari. C. Portici per passeggio de soldati. D. Tribunale nel mezzo del Castro. E. Tempio di Tiberio. F. Statua di Marte. G. Statua di Giulio Cesare. H. Statua di Augusto. I. Due gran torri per conservare le macchine militari. K. Piazze con fontane. L. Vie con abitazioni de Soldati. M. Strada sotterranea, che s’univa all’altra sotto l’Argine di Servio e di Tarquinio, fatta per introdur soldati nella Città, e passava sotto le mura N Dal O fino al P fù prolungata da Diocleziano per introdur guardie nelle sue Terme. Q. Terme di Diocleziano. R. Mura della Città anteriori ad Aureliano. S. Porta Viminale. T. Argine del Rè Servio, e di Tarquinio.; Piranesi Archit(etto) dis(egnò) inc(ise). Plan of the Castrum of Tiberius before its destruction.; 1. Aurelian Gate, closed today. 2. Aurelian Walls. 3. Cobblestone street. 4. Wall rebuilt by modern architects. 5. Extent of the Castrum. 6. Houses rebuilt after Constantine. 7. Building constructed by Constantine on the round corners of the castrum of Tiberius. 8 and 9. Gates built by Constantine and fortified in the interior by the vanguards of Belisarius, in order to thicken the wall. 10. Remains of Cobblestone street. 11. Ruins of a castrum.;A. Plan of the form of the Castrum of Tiberius before its destruction, which is revealed through its remains and Facade and which can be seen in the bas-relief of the Arch of Constantine, in Medals, and in the Ancient Writers. B. Guard posts, or entrances fortified by circular towers. C. Porticoes for the passage of soldiers. D. Tribunal in the middle of the Castrum. E. Temple of Tiberius. F. Statue of Mars. G. Statue of Julius Caesar. H. Statue of Augustus. I. Two large towers to hold the armaments. K. Piazzas with fountains. L. Streets with housing for the Soldiers. M. Subterranean street, which connected to another street under the embankment of Servius and Tarquin. It was built to let soldiers into the City by passing under the city walls. N. From O to P the street was extended by Diocletian to let the guards into the Baths. Q. Baths of Diocletian. R. Walls of the City built before Aurelian. S. Porta Viminale. T. Embankment of the King Servius and Tarquin.; Drawn and engraved by the Architect Piranesi.

  With this image, the first volume of Piranesi’s Antichità Romane moves to its final grouping of plates, each of which depicts floor plans or maps. Following his elaborate, multi-panel Map of Rome’s Aqueducts, the “Pianta della forma del Castro di Tiberio” consists of six elements: a hatched background that shows cardinal directions; on top of it, a piece of paper with the plan at the top and a measurement scale in the upturned curl at the bottom; two additional curling sheets of paper showing the perimeter of the soldier’s quarters and its numerical key; and, along the bottom of the page, the alphabetic key that identifies elements of the barracks and the wall. The structure is the Castra Praetoria, or the barracks of the Imperial Roman Guard (21-23 CE), whose extant remains were later incorporated into the Aurelian Walls. The first alphabetic annotation states that the plan represents the structure “innanzi al suo disfacimento” (A). From the material and textual evidence that remains, and from the combinations of evidence and artistry that characterize many of his works, Piranesi constructs this conjectural plan.  
  
  His evidence, detailed in the first annotation, includes the structure’s ruins and façade, its depiction in both a bas-relief on the Arch of Constantine and medals, and works of ancient writers. The plan’s scale, placed precisely in the narrow space of the curling scroll, conveys the relative objectivity of units of measure (“Palmi Romani,” literally, Roman hands), but it also suggests, in its placement within a visual illusion, the other illusions that are inherent in representational media. Trompe l’œil effects that simulate the material surfaces of stone, paper, or both appear throughout this group of plans. In some, Piranesi distinguishes between extant and conjectural remains with different levels of hatching, with extant remains depicted with heavier inking and lost elements shown with lighter lines. 
  The illusion in this image (close-up above) emphasizes Piranesi’s frequent play between the poles of evidence and invention. While measurement scales convey objectivity, the visual illusions of trompe l’œil mark art as art (Lolla). Such presentations of scales are common across Piranesi’s works, as in his “Cross-Section of the Mausoleum of Augustus.” This presentation of scale within the space of illusion, because it appears in a historical reconstruction based on various material and textual evidence, additionally calls attention to the creativity and artfulness entailed in Piranesi's archaeological speculation. (JB)