![]() ![]() This mode of stylistic license and exaggeration, in which the boughs of trees, crumbling pediments, and pastoral landscapes beyond appear in an almost impossible state of harmony, are said to have both reflected and reinforced the renewed interest in the glory of the ancient world that was sweeping Europe at the time (1). ![]() ![]() These etchings depict the Eternal City in a state of beautiful decay, and Piranesi seemed to take special care to impart a romantic tone of the picturesque to each scene he crafted. Italian Cartographer Giovanni Battista Piranesi was particularly interested in the ruination of Rome he encountered in the 18th century, which he famously immortalized in his Vedute series (“The Views”). As a prototypical city with a contemporary life, Rome offers a poignant lens through which to understand the processes and politics of ruination, as its territory has been subject to varied and continuous states urban occupation for over 2,700 years. Speculation about the meaning, aesthetics, and potentials of Ruderal Urban Territories (RUT’s) is both timely and deeply rooted in history.
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