ROMANORUM FONTINALIA SIVE NITIDISSIMORUM PERENNIUMQUE, INTRA & EXTRA, URBEM ROMAM. by FALDA, GIOVANNI BATTISTA - 1685

Plates fresh with strong impressions. Complete with 42 engraved plates (forty are double page) of spectacular baroque Roman fountains. All but two of the plates are copies of etchings designed and engraved by Falda for "Le Fontane di Roma" of 1675. The fountains are linked to the urban spectacle of surrounding buildings and influenced by theatrical stage design of the period and the passion for gardens. They include those in St. Peter's Square and at the papal palaces and the Pantheon; in the Piazzas Capitoline, Navona, De Popolo and Di Spagna; in front of the Palaces Aldobrandini, Colonna and Farnese; and the Moses fountain (Fontana dell'Acqua Felice). Gorgeous baroque fountains whose style derived from imperial antiquity, many built in the reigns of Gregory XIII and Clement VIII. Etchings by 17th century printmakers of the architectural splendors of Rome stimulated the fashion of the Grand Tour to Italy. Falda's realistic work contributed to a new perception of the modern city in its baroque splendor as expanded by its popes. Millard, Italian Books, 36: " . . . the most sophisticated and elaborate collection of plates ever engraved on the subject." Berlin Catalogue 3604 (this edition).