Giambattista Nolli - Stefano Pozzi, New Topography... Lot 45

Giambattista Nolli - Stefano Pozzi, New Topography of Rome 114x136 cm - each plate 284x450 mm Reproduction of the most beautiful eighteenth-century maps of Rome by Giambattista Nolli on twelve sheets applied to cotton canvas, as a wall map. Indexes missing. Nolli began the survey in 1736 and engraved the map in 1748, on behalf of Pope Benedict It was by far the most accurate description of the City produced up to that time and was the first to differentiate with graphic clarity between the archaeological remains and contemporary buildings. Rome appears in its Renaissance form, with vast areas within the ancient walls still occupied by villas with extensive fields, orchards and gardens. The Colosseum is located in open countryside while the Circus Maximus and the Forum are shown in an unearthed state. The lower sheets are almost entirely occupied by a rich decoration meticulously engraved by Stefano Pozzi (Rome 1699 - 1768). In the lower left corner there is a composition of classical monuments including the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Forum and Trajan's Column, in front of which are allegorical figures and at the bottom the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus below shape of broken ancient statues; in the center dedication to Benedict XIV; the lower right corner describes the allegorical representation of the Church sitting in front of Michelangelo's set of buildings on the Capitoline Hill.