Piazza di Monte Cavallo, reproduction of Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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Giambattista Piranesi's "Veduta della Piazza di Monte Cavallo" (View of the Piazza di Monte Cavallo) is an engraving that transports us to 18th-century Rome, offering a glimpse of one of its most iconic spaces.

Piazza del Quirinale, formerly known as Monte Cavallo after the two colossal statues of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) that dominate the square with their horses, was already a place of great importance. On the hill stood the Palazzo del Quirinale, then the papal summer residence and today the seat of the Presidency of the Italian Republic.

The statues in particular had been regarded as one of the symbols of the city since antiquity, although their origin and placement changed several times over the centuries. Piranesi portrays them in their current position, on either side of the Egyptian obelisk.

It is interesting to note how Piranesi, for all his meticulousness, sometimes allowed himself artistic licence, anticipating or rearranging elements to improve the composition or emphasise the magnificence of the subject.

Product specifications

Print: handmade Amalfi paper with frame
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in);
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges, handmade beech wood frame