One of the largest printed prospects of Rome

A monumental and detailed view of 18th century Rome with a 390-point key underneath. Taken from Monte Giancolo, it looks north east, with Saint Peter's Basilica in the middle left and the Fonte dell'acqua Paola middle right. The panorama is dedicated to Charles III of Spain, who had been king of Naples and Sicily before abdicating when he took the Spanish throne. Giuseppe Vasi (1710-82) was an architect and engraver who speciallised in views of Rome for Grand Tourists to buy. In the 1740s one of his pupils was Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who eventually overshadowed his mentor as a printmaker. After Piranesi died in 1778, a biography claimed that Piranesi had stabbed Vasi in a row about withheld secret techniques; Vasi testified that this was untrue but the rumour persisted.