Rome measured and imagined : early modern maps of the Eternal City /

In this imaginative, meticulous book, Maier (art history, Mount Holyoke) explores the world of early modern maps of Rome, from Alberti's treatise on cartography (c. 1450) to the 18th-century enterprises of Nolli, Vasi, and Piranesi. Rome, "the quintessential palimpsest," underwent grand reinvention in this period, and ritratti, or "portraits" of the city (as city maps and views were called) reflect not only changes in its urban framework but also shifts in artistic style, new attitudes toward antiquity, and contemporary improvements in cartography and surveying. In attempting to represent "the real Rome," therefore, ritratti were both scientific and artistic, merging "measured rendering" with "creative expression." Though Maier focuses on maps, such as those by Bufalini, Ligorio, Du Pérac, and Falda, she wisely expands her scope to address more essentially visual sources (late medieval images of cities) and key textual sources (Alberti and Raphael) and analyzes her evidence for artistic, scientific, intellectual, historical, and even commercial insights. The book is therefore as interdisciplinary as its material, useful for introducing students to its subject and serving as a fine example of interdisciplinary scholarship. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries. --Carrie E. Benes, New College of Florida