1624 G. Laurus, Temple of Jupiter, Rome, Italy engraving

Temple of Jovis Capitolini

Antiquae Urbis Splendor, Hoc Est Praecipua Eiusdem Templa Amphitheatra Theatra Circi Naumachiae Arcus Triumphales Mausolea.

Romae, Apresso Vitale Mascardi, Roma, 1612-1622.

FROM THE VERY SCARCE FIRST ISSUE ISSUED IN PARTS UNTIL 1622. CORRESPONDINGLY THE ENGRAVING ARE PARTICULARLY CRISP AND WELL DEFINED. In this, and only this, issue there is not text to the verso of the engravings

FINE ENGRAVING from one of the most influential and beautiful works on the monuments and antiquities of ancient Rome. The Antiquae urbis splendor, ('The Splendor of the Ancient City') served as an important reference book and source of inspiration for many writers and artists. Giacomo Lauro was a roman printmaker active from 1583 to about 1650. 

Leaf: 26 x 21 cm

The temple of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, built by King Tarquinius Priscus and terminated by king Tarquinius Superbus in the sixth century BC, and rebuilt several times over the centuries (noteworthy for their grandeur are the reconstruction of the first century BC and that of Domitian in the first century AD), was systematically destroyed in the post-antique period and used as a quarry for building materials. Nowadays it is remarkable for its extraordinary size, that can be reasonably reconstructed: the seven blocks of the podium from the age of the Tarquins cover an area corresponding to the width of the sixteenth century Palazzo Caffarelli, now part of the Capitoline Museums, and of its garden.