Original antique engraving by Gaetano Cottafavi (1800–1865). His depiction of the Vatican, titled "Piazza e Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano" captures the grandeur of the exterior piazza and its sweeping colonnades and façade. It was published as part of his famous 'Raccolta delle principali vedute di Roma e suoi contorni' in 1837.
Gaetano Cottafavi was an Italian engraver and draftsman. Born in Correggio, Gaetano Cottafavi worked in Rome between 1828 and 1864.
His work as an engraver was part of the 19th-century Roman landscape painting movement, inspired by the Roman engravings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Giuseppe Vasi . His engravings were appreciated by foreigners on the Grand Tour.
In 1824 Antonio Nibby published a renewed tourist guide of the city of Rome, with itineraries to be completed over the course of several days, with the title 'Itinerario di Roma'.
Gaetano Cottafavi was comissioned to produce some of the illustrations for this publication, of which this is one of them.
