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The Digital Piranesi Main Menu About The Digital Piranesi is a developing digital humanities project that aims to provide an enhanced digital edition of the works of Italian illustrator Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778). Works and Volumes Genres, Subjects, and Themes Bibliography Glossary

Pianta di Roma

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111. Ruin of the supports of the pre-Aurelian walls at the foot of the Quirinal Hill Harith Kumte
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46. Ancient Ruin, now called the Muro-Torto Jeanne Britton
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47. Ancient Ruin, now called the Muro-Torto Jeanne Britton
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2. Aurelian Walls Jeanne Britton
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48. Ancient Ruin, now called the Muro-Torto Jeanne Britton
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116. Plan of the Castrum of Tiberius Jeanne Britton
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23. Porta San Lorenzo Jeanne Britton
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12. Blocks possibly taken from the Aqueducts of the Acqua Claudia and Anione Nuovo Jeanne Britton
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118. Other ruins of the fountainhead of the Acqua Marcia, Tepula, and Giulia Jeanne Britton
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15. Ruins of the Amphitheater Castrense Harith Kumte
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130. Neronian Arches that joined to the Aqueduct of the Acqua Claudia [letter E] Jeanne Britton
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77. Eight columns of the Portico of the Temple of Antoninus Pius Harith Kumte
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263. Forum of Nerva Jeanne Britton
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129. Monument in the form of a triumphal arch incorporating the Aqueducts of the Acqua Claudia and Anione Nuovo Jeanne Britton
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127. Another Funerary Chamber of the Arrunzio family also in the aformentioned Villa [Villa Magnani] Jeanne Britton
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264. Ruin in the Forum of Nerva at the Tor de' Conti, now called the Colonnacce Jeanne Britton
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126. Ruin of a Funerary Chamber in the Villa Magnani Jeanne Britton
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10 Jeanne Britton
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119. Canals of the Aqueducts of the Acqua Tepula and Giulia that lead to the fountainhead of the Acqua Marcia [letter F] Jeanne Britton
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19. Porta Maggiore near the Ancient Aqueduct of the Acqua Claudia and Anione Nuovo Harith Kumte
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166. Quadrilateral archway near the Church of San Giorgio in Velabro Harith Kumte
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154. Broken Bridge built by Gregory XIII on the ruins of the ancient Senatorial or Palatine Bridge Harith Kumte Ponte Rotto dimostrato nella predetta Tavola XXdi questo Tomo alla figura II. Egli fu fabbricato da Gregorio XIII su le rovine dell'antico Ponte Senatorio o Palatino. Le pile dell'antico furono fatto dal Censore Marco Fulvio, e gli archi dai Censori Scipione Affricano, e Lucio Mummio; uno de' quali archi, cioè il primo dalla ripa del Trastevere rimane peranco in essere, come anche una porzione delle antiche pile sulla ripa opposta.
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164. House of Cola di Rienzo built in the XIV century Harith Kumte
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123. Remains of the Temple of Minerva Medica Zoe Langer
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234. Ruins of the Tepidarium in the Baths of Titus Harith Kumte
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169. Temple of Cybele in the Foro Boario Harith Kumte
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20. One of the ruins of the fountainhead of the Acqua Marcia, Tepula, and Giulia Harith Kumte
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170. Outlet of the Cloaca Maxima into the Tiber Jeanne Britton
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266. Ruin of the Pronaos and Temple of Antoninus and Faustina Jeanne Britton
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* Walls of Rome Jeanne Britton
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134. Ruin of the Temple of the Speranza Vecchia Jeanne Britton
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95. Ruin of the Portico of Philip Jeanne Britton
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75. Column of Marcus Aurelius Harith Kumte
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282. Ruins of the Dining Room in the Golden House of Nero Jeanne Britton
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184. Ruins in the Cavalletti vineyard of the Arches that brought a portion of the Acqua Claudia to the Aventine Jeanne Britton
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56. Remains of the Aqueduct of the Acqua Alsietina Jeanne Britton
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92. Ruins of some voussoirs on the lower circumference of the Theater of Pompey Jeanne Britton
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73. Arches of the Ancient Aqueduct of the Acqua Vergine from the Palazzo del Bufalo to the Trevi Fountain Jeanne Britton
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270. Ruin of the Pronaos of the Temple of Concord Jeanne Britton
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79. Pantheon, or the Temple of Jupiter Ultor consisting of a magnificent Hall and majestic Pronaos Zoe Langer
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198. Baths of Caracalla Harith Kumte
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300. Ruin of the Peristyle of the House of Nero on the Palatine Jeanne Britton
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307. Arch of Constantine Jeanne Britton
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141. Sepulcral ruins in the Casali Vineyard Jeanne Britton
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90. Ruin of the great tomb of Hadrian's Mausoleum Harith Kumte
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232. Arch erected in honor of Emperor Gallienus Harith Kumte
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145. Ruins of the aforementioned Antonine Aqueduct that carried water to the Baths of Caracalla Jeanne Britton
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148. Ruins of the walls and Portico built on the Tiber by M. Aurelius Lepidus and P. Aemilius Paulus Harith Kumte
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124. Ruin of the main Fountainhead of the Acqua Claudia and Anione Nuovo Jeanne Britton
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262. Column of Trajan Jeanne Britton
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101. Three large columns of striated marble that formed the Temple of Juno Harith Kumte
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269. Arch of Septimius Severus Jeanne Britton
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175. Ruins of ancient saltmines Harith Kumte
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142. Monument of the Antonine Aqueduct Harith Kumte
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287. Arch of Titus Jeanne Britton
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42 Jeanne Britton
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2 Jeanne Britton
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176. Progression of the ruins of the saltmines on the bank of the Tiber beneath the Priory [letter C] Harith Kumte
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296. Ruins of the Loggias of the House of Nero Jeanne Britton
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280. Three Columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux Jeanne Britton
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201. Garden of the Signori della Missione, on the former site of the Nymphaeum of Nero (shown in plan view) Harith Kumte
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249. Ruins of the Baths of Diocletian and Maximian Jeanne Britton
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210. Archway at the Church of San Tommaso in Formis, made of travertines by the consuls Cornelio Dolabella and C. Giunio Harith Kumte
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209. Ruin of the Neronian Arches located in the vineyard of the Signori della Missione Harith Kumte
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104. Ruin of the pilasters of the anterior portico of the Septi Giuli Harith Kumte
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309. Ampitheatre of Flavian, called the Colosseum Jeanne Britton
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58 Jeanne Britton
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236. Plan and View of the Baths of Titus Jeanne Britton
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145. Ruins of the aforementioned Antonine Aqueduct that carried water to the Baths of Caracalla Jeanne Britton
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76. Ruin of one of the lateral parts of the Portico of the Temple of Antoninus Pius Jeanne Britton
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1 Jeanne Britton
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45 Jeanne Britton
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159. Extremity of the Tiber Island Harith Kumte
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18 Jeanne Britton
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142. Monument of the Antonine Aqueduct Harith Kumte
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7 Jeanne Britton
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24 Jeanne Britton
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147. Monte Testaccio (with an explanation of its development) Harith Kumte
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46 Jeanne Britton
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25 Jeanne Britton
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3 Jeanne Britton
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5 Jeanne Britton
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162. The Bridge of Quattro Capi, formerly called the Ponte Fabricio Jeanne Britton
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88. Pier of the Triumphal Bridge Jeanne Britton
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143. Ruins, in the same vineyard near the Gate of Saint Sebastian Harith Kumte
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98. Bank of the Tiber made of grey marble Jeanne Britton
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67. Ruin of the Mausoleum of Augustus Jeanne Britton
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43 Jeanne Britton
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51 Jeanne Britton
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100. Portico built by Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia Harith Kumte
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Annotation Jeanne Britton
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44 Jeanne Britton
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14 Jeanne Britton
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4 Jeanne Britton
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12 Jeanne Britton
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47 Jeanne Britton
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6 Jeanne Britton
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13 Jeanne Britton
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11 Jeanne Britton
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49 Jeanne Britton
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48 Jeanne Britton
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99. Ruins of the Theater of Marcellus Harith Kumte
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39 Harith Kumte
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40 Jeanne Britton
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158. Ponte Ferrato Harith Kumte
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205. Remains of the Animal Cages Built by Domitian Harith Kumte
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64 Harith Kumte
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16 Jeanne Britton
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15 Jeanne Britton
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52 Jeanne Britton
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99. Ruins of the Theater of Marcellus Harith Kumte
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53 Harith Kumte
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17 Harith Kumte
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22 Harith Kumte
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33 Harith Kumte
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62 Harith Kumte
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26 Harith Kumte
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56 Harith Kumte
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9 Harith Kumte
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38 Harith Kumte
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66 Harith Kumte
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55 Harith Kumte
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37 Harith Kumte
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34 Harith Kumte
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20 Harith Kumte
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67 Harith Kumte
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276. Remains of the Tomb of Caius Publicius Harith Kumte
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32 Harith Kumte
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36 Harith Kumte
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21 Harith Kumte
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31 Harith Kumte
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57 Harith Kumte
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165. Temple of Fortuna Virilis Harith Kumte
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65 Harith Kumte
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Annotation Jeanne Britton
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76. Ruin of one of the lateral parts of the Portico of the Temple of Antoninus Pius Jeanne Britton
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76. Ruin of one of the lateral parts of the Portico of the Temple of Antoninus Pius Jeanne Britton
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This page is referenced by:

Map of Rome
Piranesi’s “Pianta di Roma” is the official beginning and the conceptual center of the first volume of Le Antichità Romane. It is based on the early third-century CE Severan Marble Plan (or Forma Urbis Romae), an ancient map carved on stone tablets whose surviving fragments, the caption tells us, had recently been displayed in the Capitoline Museum. His printed map itself appears to be made of large marble slabs, like the pieces of the Severan Plan, but he breaks this illusionistic effect by extending fragments over the map’s border and into the caption. Similarly, the letters of “ROMA” resemble the bronze letters affixed to (rather than engraved in) building surfaces for ancient inscriptions. Their protrusions from the background of the page use ancient writing materials while echoing the trompe l’œil effect of the stone slab that is conveyed through print.

Heather Hyde Minor has illuminated this volume’s play with historical and contemporary writing media, its labyrinthine structure, and its persistent combinations of word and image (2015, 15-39). This map is indeed surrounded by texts: the caption below it, a lengthy typeset index for its central cartographic image, plus a shorter, engraved index to the fragments around its edges (below). The volume also includes a brief Preface addressed “agli studiosi delle Antichità Romane,” where Piranesi describes his approach to ancient ruins, saying he hoped to “conservarli col mezzo delle stampe.” This method of preservation is fundamentally bound to his medium of print, and this map uses features of printed books—the index, the cross-reference—to test, and to expand, print’s capacities for representing evidence and theories of Rome’s material past.
The numbers in the central part of this map within the city walls refer first to a typeset index found on this volume’s preceding pages. There, Piranesi points readers to his images in each of the four volumes of Le Antichità Romane by indicating the numbers of their plates and figures. These references to the index and then to his images are rendered here as hyperlinks; others, that refer only to text in the index, are not (yet). The numbers that correspond to the fragments surrounding the central part of the map—also rendered here as hyperlinks—refer to the separate two-page index of the marble fragments of the ancient map above. Finally, this map’s index contains references to the Map of the Roman Aqueducts that comes near the end of the volume, making a full comprehension of the Aqueduct map depend on a deep engagement with this map and its index. Navigating this map, and the four volumes it guides us through, presents many challenges.

Aside from these navigational tools, Piranesi himself suggests another method: the metaphor of a stroll around the city. Explaining the sequence of numbered items in the map, he says, in the preface to the Index, “Cominceremo intanto la spiegazione della topografia dal giro esterno intorno alle odierne mura di Roma, e precisamente dalla ripa del Tevere incontro il monte Testaccio, scorrendo dall’asterisco * secondo l’ordine de’ numeri consecutive.” Here, the “giro esterno intorno alle odierne mura di Roma” means the exterior borders around the contemporary city walls, which determines the initial sequence of the numbered items in the map as well as the vedute that follow. If, he notes at the end of the same paragraph, “nel nostro giro,” we stumble upon restorations to the wall made under Constantine, they should be recognized as being of the same construction as those by Aurelian (Index to the Map of Rome, Preface). It is as if Piranesi is offering this unwieldy volume as an oversized guidebook for a walking tour of the city.

The same term—“giro”—signifies a tour or stroll as well as the circumference of the city’s walls. At key points in the map, the metaphor returns to guide book-users through their imaginative stroll with Piranesi. First, in the reference to the Castel Saint Angelo, he states “Terminato il giro esterno delle mura, entreremo per la Porta del Popolo a ricercar gli antichi monumenti” (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 63). At The Bridge of the Quattro Capi, he redirects us, “Orchè, abbiamo terminato il giro fra l’odierno circuito delle mura urbane,” and asks us to move through the city and through the book: “proseguiremo le perquisizioni de’ Monumenti antichi entrando per la Porta Carmentale, colla consecutiva scorta de’ numeri” (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 162). In keeping with an increasing cultural interest in making the ancient past newly present, Piranesi’s “stroll” hints, however metaphorically, at being physically in the city instead of looking at a large, seemingly disorganized book. As an itinerary, the volume sets out a journey that would be, Jonathan Scott notes, especially grueling (Scott 118). This volume’s sequence of vedute, though, by moving from the water supply system to tourist attractions and various ruins, differs from that of the common guidebook and instead reveals Piranesi’s aim to present “a picture of the whole of ancient Rome as his aesthetic ideal” (Kantor-Kazovsky 99, 110).

John Wilton-Ely has emphasized the order that the map’s index establishes, observing that it allows this volume’s small vedute to be “readily placed within a larger context” while through the system of cross-references the maze-like “isolated fragments are explained in relation to one another” (1978, 51). For Minor, though, the complexity of Piranesi’s system of cross-references threatens to undermine the order that it seeks to establish and becomes “a wild course,” a journey that “all but the most intrepid and dogged lovers of antiquity would give up on” (2015, 35). In a digital format, that journey, or “our stroll” with Piranesi, becomes possible and challenging in new ways. The hyperlinked references shared here are intended to convey both the order and the chaos, the sense of presence and the reminders of absence, that this volume and its central map create through Piranesi’s ambitious use of the print medium. (JB)
N.B.: The numbering is off by one, starting at 256. The original edition skipped number 256, but the Didot edition’s addition of 256 throws off all following numbers by one. Digital annotations above have been corrected so that the proper spot on the map refers to the proper text in the index and the appropriate image in this and/or other volumes of the Roman Antiquities.

To see this image in the first volume of Antichità Romane, volume 1 of Piranesi’s Opere, click here.
Pianta di Roma