Description
Novissima et Accuratissima Romae Veteris et Novae Tabula is based on Giovanni Battista Falda’s earlier Nuova Pianta et alzata della citta di Roma, originally published as a huge 12-sheet map with views in 1676. In the offered version, created posthumously, the map itself and the illustration in the upper left corner are substantially the same as in Falda’s larger version. These were combined with new illustrations and keys for the fourth volume of Thesaurus Antiquitatum Romanarum, a magnificent 12-volume compendium of engravings, maps and illustrations of ancient Rome, edited by Johann Georg Graevius and printed by the Dutch publishers Frans Halma and Pieter van der Aa. This was the only illustration in that work engraved after Falda, who was known for his architectural views of Rome. The Halma-van der Aa version was later reprinted during the 18th century by Halma alone, with a Dutch inscription on the stone at the bottom right, and also by Pietro Monaco in Venice, with no inscription on the stone.
Giovanni Battista Falda was an Italian draftsman and printmaker. He is best known for his architectural views, which introduced an influential realist style into Roman printmaking and helped make Rome a major center for architectural prints. From at least 1655, he produced views of the buildings, gardens and fountains of Rome, as well as detailed plans of the city and ceremonial events. Many of his works celebrated Pope Alexander VII’s role in the renovation of Rome. Falda’s most famous works are Nuovo Teatro (1665-69), Giardini di Roma (1670) and Fontane di Roma (1675).
Publication information (inscription on stone lower right): Excudebant Trafiect: ad Rhenum Franciscus Halma et Lugdun. Batav. Petrus Vander Aa.
Details Shown Left:
Baths of Diocletian and Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral
Colisseum
Full sheet
Backlit detail showing the paper’s watermark
References:
“Catalogus Librorum qvi in Thesavro Antiqvitatvm Romanarvm.” University of Florida Rare Book Collection. 23 February 2004. http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/rarebook/graevius/illustrators.htm (16 May 2013).
“Giovanni Battista Falda.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/02/0274/T027427.asp (6 December 2004).