A look back at ROME’s architecture

28th September 2020

Rome Was! by Randolph Langenbach, a look back at Rome’s architecture.

Rome as it is today is a tourist lure, a hotspot for looking at the past. All we see is the present. What did the past look like? You can certainly go right back to Roman times and visit the digital experience at the Domus, Palazzo Valentini(just look at those top reviews on TripAdvisor!). How, though has Ancient Rome morphed into modern Rome, what happened along the way?

Randolph Langenbach has been visiting the city since eat 1960s and became fascinated by some of the artwork depicting the city, back to the time of architect, man of letters, etcher and engraver – the great Piranesi.

The author takes prints and paintings created by Piranesi and other artists and overlays the exact scene in present day. So it is striking, for example, to note how an artwork created in the 18th Century is markedly different but still the same iconic landmarks are the same. In Piranesi’s time the land mass was much higher, due to rubbish piling up. The old ruins had no value in contemporary culture and therefore they were places to pillage and thieve – much of the sculpted marble was taken to burn and turn into lime for mortar in new buildings of the time.

I think this small book gives a nice insight into the footsteps of the past in Rome.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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