Via Appia illustrata ab urbe Roma ad Capuam [graphic]. [ca.1794]

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Labruzzi, Carlo, ca. 1765-1818. Via Appia illustrata ab urbe Roma ad Capuam [graphic].

Via Appia illustrata ab urbe Roma ad Capuam [graphic]. [ca.1794]

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145884812

This bound volume of prints records a trip down the Via Appia by the English antiquarian Sir Richard Colt Hoare and Carlo Labruzzi in 1789. The 24 numbered etchings (plate mark 45.5 x 55 cm. or smaller) depict ruins and recent archaeological excavations along the course of the road and include brief explanatory text in English and Italian. These prints document the early stages of the journey, focusing on Rome and the area immediately outside the walls. Only these 24 prints, presumably meant to be the initial elements of a comprehensive suite, were issued during Hoare's lifetime, and at his expense. Hoare had envisioned a journey from Rome to Brindisi, retracing the travel of the Roman poet Horace along the same route in 38 B.C. Intending to publish an account of his trip illustrated with a series of prints, Hoare hired Carlo Labruzzi to visually document the journey, especially the ancient monuments and inscriptions. The pair left Rome in late October, but only got as far as Benevento before weather and illness scuttled the trip. Over 800 drawings and watercolor sketches survive from this abbreviated expedition and presumably served as the sources for the etchings in this volume. Yet, it is clear that Labruzzi substantially reworked his initial images, and even revisited certain locations after 1789, since several of the prints in this volume depict later excavations.

1 v. (24 plates) : etching, engraving; 50.5 x 65.5 cm.

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