View of Piazza Colonna with the Column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome

By contrast with his extensive output of capricci, Panini’s detailed topographical vedute of Rome like this view are rare. In this drawing several important symbols of modern Rome can be identified around Piazza Colonna: the Palazzo Chigi and the Curia Innocenziana to the right, the Residenzia di Monsignor Vicegerente at the centre and the Chiesa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Alessandro dei Bergamaschi to the left. The same view appears in Panini’s painting Modern Rome, pendant to Ancient Rome, both in the Louvre (inv. R.F. 1944-22; F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini, e i fasti della Roma del’700, Rome, 1986, no. 500, ill.). Other versions of these well-known views can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 52.63.1 and 52.63.2), the latter showing the Piazza Colonna from a different viewpoint, and in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. 1975.805), also showing the Piazza Colonna from a different angle.