Sign In

Early 20th Century Printing of Falda's Wall Map of Rome

Nice example of this 20th Century printing of Giovanni Battista Falda's masterful twelve-sheet map of Rome.

First engraved during the papacy of Innocent XI (1676-1689) by Giovanni Battista Falda for Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi (1676), the map was periodically revised and updated in 1697, 1705, 1730 and 1756. Each new state included additional churches and notable buildings.

Falda’s east-oriented map was “widely acclaimed as the most complete and accurate visual record of baroque Rome” (Maier, p. 165) and it was in wide usage until the mid-eighteenth century.

This ornate plan of the city shows its layout in the early-eighteenth century in intricate detail. On each block, certain buildings are labeled. Others are numbered, indicating a corresponding number in the three keys that list 484 sites on this state alone. The lettering in the keys was engraved by Giorgio Widman.

Many decorative elements line the sides of the map. These include a reference map showing Rome and the agricultural region surrounding it. At lower center is a cartouche containing images of nine prominent churches, including St. Peter’s and St. Maria Maggiore.

In the upper left is a spectacular vignette above a dedication to Pope Innocent VI (1611-1689, r. 1676-1689). Religion sites on a throne of clouds, holding a temple, the papal cross, and the keys of St. Peter. Next to her is Justice. The image was drawn by Carlo Maratti and engraved by Pietro Aquila. Born Benedetto Odescalchi, Innocent dedicated his papacy to the reform, moral and administrative, of the Roman Curia. Farther afield, he supported the liberation of Hungary from the Ottoman Empire. He was beatified in 1956.   

In the opposite corner is a handsome cartouche with the coat of arms of the various districts of Rome, fourteen in all. Within this is a paragraph from de Rossi to all the noble readers of Rome who have patronized him over the years. He recounts all the Rome-centric books he has published, many with engravings by Falda, subtly advertising his wares while flattering the viewer. Rossi ends it with, “So please accept these labors of mine: so that I can continue to serve you with new prints and you will be happy.”

Wall maps of Rome

Rome was the subject of several wall maps in the early modern period. In the 1480s, Florentine engraver Francesco Rosselli created the first printed image of the city; it is known only through a reference in an inventory, as a physical example does not survive. At least nine images based upon the Rosselli were made before 1569.

Other maps and city images followed, namely those by Leonardo Bufalini (1551), Mario Cartaro (1576), Antonio Tempesta (1593), and Matteo Greuter (1618). Giovanni Battista Falda made a previous map of the Eternal City in 1667. Each of these appeared in several states or they inspired derivatives.

This map, first made by Falda in 1676, was built on the work of these predecessors. It proved popular and was widely admired. Samuel Pepys owned an example, and it is visible in Sutton Nicholl’s ink and wash drawing of the Pepys library in 1693.  

Rarity

All five states of the original Falda twelve-sheet map of Rome are very rare on the market.