Speculum Romanae - Piazza del Popolo

Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae - Piazza del Popolo

View of the Egyptian obelisk in Rome originally in the Mausoleum of Augustus, positioned in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore during the pontificate of Sixtus V with people walking across the square, the church of St Maria Maggiore in the background and the Pope's coat-of-arms at the bottom left. 1589
The obelisk was later moved to the Sain Peters square.
Engraving and etching

Engraving by anonymous.
Published by Giaccomo de' Rossi

Date; 1589-1650

This is a variant of the plate published by Nocolas van Aelst mentioned in the BM under inventory number 1947,0319.26.77
Lettered two columns of Latin text across the top of image, two Latin inscriptions on the history of the obelisk at the bottom including publication
With the publishers address of Giacomo de Rossi.

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 In 1540 Antonio Lafreri, a native of Besançon transplanted to Rome, began publishing maps and other printed images that depicted major monuments and antiquities in Rome. These images were calculated to appeal to the taste for classical antiquity that fueled the cultural event we call the Renaissance. After Lafreri published a title page in the mid-1570s, collections of these prints came to be known as the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, the "Mirror of Roman Magnificence." Tourists and other collectors who bought prints from Lafreri made their own selections and had them individually bound. Over time, Lafreri's title page served as starting point for large and eclectic compilations, expanded and rearranged by generations of collectors.