Alexandra Lorenz

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, or Giambattista Piranesi; 1720–1778) was an Italian archaeologist, architect and graphic artist, engraver, draftsman, master of architectural landscapes. Born October 4, 1720 in Mogliano near Mestre. He studied in Venice with his father, who was a bricklayer, with his uncle, an engineer and architect, and with some other masters. From 1740 to 1744 he studied engraving technique with Giuseppe Vasi and Felice Polanzani in Rome; there in 1743 he published his first series of engravings, the First Part of Architectural and Perspective Constructions (La parte prima di Architetture e Prospettive). Then he briefly returned to Venice, and from 1745 settled permanently in Rome. By the end of his life (he died November 9, 1778) Piranesi became one of the most famous citizens of Rome. He had a strong influence on subsequent generations of Romantic artists and, later, on the Surrealists.

Here is the Teatro di Marcello:

This is the modern look:

Immediately striking is the big difference in the safety of the building. Has it really worn out so much in less than 3 centuries? While it previously stood in excellent condition for more than a thousand years?
We note right away that what was obvious in the 1750s - we are rediscovering. The first floor of the building covered with sand. Giovanni writes: “The 1st floor of the theater is half visible, but earlier it and the one above it were the same in height”
It also hurts something else. The graph confidently depicts the underground part of the theater, a powerful foundation. Here is the second picture:

Here Piranesi draws in sufficient detail the structure of the foundation of the Theater. Was he excavating? It can be judged from the image that for such a drawing it is required not only to excavate, but also to disassemble part of the building.
So Giovaniya used more ancient sources, building his images. The ones we don't have.
I draw your attention to the details of the design:
The famous "nipples" on the blocks. Just like in South America!

Accuracy in the manufacture of cycloscopic blocks.

Unprecedented power of the building. By our standards - unjustified. Studying the architecture of Rome, I cannot get rid of this thought - everything is done very firmly, reliably, precisely. Construction costs are incredible!

The builders of Rome had a deep knowledge of sopromat. Here and in other drawings that I will post later, you can see how the masonry in huge blocks repeats the load diagrams. Modern construction such "freaks" are not available.

A pile base is used. I do not presume to give an assessment of such a solution under stone buildings, but perhaps it was the piles, being a “cushion”, that protected the building from strong earthquakes. And they didn't rot?

Complex curly grooves, channels, protrusions, dovetails - all this indicates that the blocks were made by casting or by another plasticization method.

As elsewhere in Rome, backfilling with rubble and rubble of the internal cavities of the walls is used.

First of all, the super-powerful foundations of buildings and structures are striking. For example, this bridge:

Any architect, builder will tell you: “Now they don’t build like that. It's expensive, it's not rational, it's not necessary"
This is not a bridge, but some kind of pyramid! How many stone blocks. How difficult is it to make them. How strong they are. How exactly. How much labor, transport work, calculations are needed. Eighteen exclamation marks. And more questions.
Here are the ancient walls and foundations:

Impressive? Why such power? Defend yourself against a cannonball or a bronze-tipped log?

Here is beauty, a diagram of stresses in stone. Famous "nipples", incredible fit. It strikes high culture construction and knowledge in the field of strength of materials.
And here is our favorite bridge:

It still stands - a bridge built by Emperor Elius Adriano:

It looks like a normal bridge. And what is his basis?
When compared, the changed water level immediately catches the eye. All grandiose structures remained hidden from view.
I will also draw your attention to the mountains of sand in the drawing by Giovanni. “D is the sand deposited in times…” I could not find the translation of this mysterious word. And the Italian friends could not help. What are the times? I think the word was changed on purpose. To be unable to translate. Either all references to these times have been wiped clean from history.
Again a mystery.

Here is a drawing of the bridge support. Why such power? And pay attention to the fact that the blocks are fastened together. And again a pillow of piles.

Here is another bridge. The same powerful single structure of the bridge supports with its body and a common foundation below.
It seems that the builders were faced with the task of resisting powerful earthquakes. Obviously, our planet during these times, when it was expanding rapidly, was subject to very strong seismic activity. Perhaps, the streams of water and mudflow as a result of titanic showers or the melting of huge amounts of snow and ice in the mountains had crushing power.
Of course, the power of the construction industry, which was at their disposal, is also striking. Against the background of these drawings, the construction of both the Trojan ramparts, and the Serpents and the pyramids becomes more understandable. I do not believe that only using the draft power of cattle and slaves, it was possible to build such a thing.
I want to draw your attention to the configuration of the blocks that make up the steps of the amphitheaters:

Well, I would like to note once again: Giovanni Piranesi had access to certain archives where the construction drawings of these ancient structures were stored. I believe that one should also look for drawings of the Cologne Cathedral, Notre Dame Cathedral and other temples, the builders of which “in one night the devil whispered how to build a temple)))))
And most likely, you need to look for these documents in the Vatican. Because the church wished in its time to appropriate the fruits of the labor of a "different" civilization. She later told me that it was Pope So-and-so who laid the first stone in the foundation of the temple. Weighing 600 tons!
It is in the vaults of the Vatican that answers to many secrets await us! Surely, books from the "burned" libraries of the world got there.

"Piranesi. Before and after. Italy - Russia. XVIII-XXI centuries. Part I

From September 20 to November 13, the Pushkin Museum hosted the exhibition “Piranesi. Before and after. Italy - Russia. XVIII-XXI centuries.
The exposition includes more than 100 etchings by the master, engravings and drawings of his predecessors and followers, casts, coins and medals, books, as well as cork models from the collection of the Research Museum at Russian Academy art, graphic sheets from the Cini Foundation (Venice), the Research Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev, Museum of the History of the Moscow School of Architecture at the Moscow Architectural Institute, Russian state archive literature and art, Yakov Chernikhov International Architectural Charitable Foundation. For the first time, the attention of the Russian audience will be offered Piranesi engraving boards, provided by the Central Institute of Graphics (Roman Calcography). In total, about 400 works were exhibited at the exhibition. The exhibition covers much more wide circle problems and goes far beyond the boundaries of the artist's own creativity. "Do" are Piranesi's predecessors, as well as his direct teachers; "After" - artists and architects late XVIII-XIX centuries, up to the 21st century.
white hall

The White Hall is dedicated to Antiquity. Piranesi spent his entire life researching ancient rome, giving the world a number of major archaeological discoveries. For the first time, Russian visitors will be able to see sheets from the master's most important theoretical works, primarily the four-volume work "Roman Antiquities" (1756) and others. Piranesi described the surviving monuments of ancient Rome, reconstructed the topography of the ancient city, captured the disappearing remains of ancient monuments.

Piranesi was not only a tireless research engraver, but also an enterprising person who successfully used his talent and knowledge for commercial purposes. From the second half of the 1760s, he took part in excavations and began to recreate the monuments ancient art by selling them along with engravings.

Pope Clement XIII and other members of the Rezzonico family patronized Piranesi, encouraging his creative ideas. In addition to the grandiose, never realized project of 1760 to rebuild the altar and the western part of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, in 1764-1766 Piranesi reconstructed the church of the Order of Malta Santa Maria del Piorato on the Avetine Hill in Rome, and also designed a number of interiors in the residence of the pope in Rome. Castel Gandolfo and his successors - Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rezzonico and Senator of Rome Abbondio Rezzonico.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Portrait of Pope Clement XIII. Frontispiece to the series "On the grandeur and architecture of the Romans ..." 1761 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Urns, tombstones and vases at Villa Corsini. . Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The engraving depicts funerary urns, stelae, tombstones found in the gardens of the Villa Corsini behind Porta San Pancrazio in Rome (Trastevere district). It is believed that Piranesi used the alternation of funerary urns and steles when designing the fence of the Church of the Order of Malta, Santa Maria del Piorato. This church is the only building built by Piranesi.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Interior view of the tomb of Lucius Arruntius. Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Tomb of Lucius Arrucius - a complex of three columbariums, rooms with semicircular niches for storing urns with the ashes of slaves and descendants of the statesman, consul of the 6th year, historian Lucius Arruncius. The burial was discovered in 1736, and in the 19th century the tomb was completely destroyed.

Gravestone of Lucius Volumnius Heracles Plaster tinted, cast in the form Original: marble, 1 c, kept in the Lateran Museum, Rome Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Altar-shaped tombstones were very popular in the funeral rites of Italy during the early imperial period. The original is made from a single block of marble with relief decorations on the pediment and sides. The upper part of the gravestone is designed in the form of a pillow with two bolsters, the curls of which are decorated with rosettes. A wreath with garlands is depicted in the central part of the semicircular pediment.

On the front side of the tombstone, in a frame, there is an inscription with a dedication to the gods of the underworld - manns - and a mention of the name of the deceased and his age; under it is the mask of the Gorgon Medusa, framed by the figures of swans. At the corners of the monument there are masks of rams, under which images of eagles are placed. The side parts of the gravestone are decorated with garlands of leaves and fruits hanging from ram's horns.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "View of the ancient Appeva Way". Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

One of the main themes in the art of Piranesi is the theme of the grandeur of ancient Roman architecture. In many ways, this greatness was achieved thanks to engineering and technical skills. The engraving depicts a preserved paved section of the ancient Apian Way, the Queen of the Roads, as the Romans called it.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Title page for Volume II "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, cutter, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

In the essay "Roman Antiquities" Piranesi showed an increased interest in funerary structures. In the study of the tombs containing numerous works of art, the artist saw the way to the revival of the greatness of Rome and its culture. Before Piranesi, Pietro Santi Bartoli, Pier Leon Ghezzi and others turned to the study and documentation of ancient Roman tombs. Their writings had a significant impact on the artist, but Piranesi goes beyond simply fixing the external and internal appearance of the tombs. His compositions are full of dynamics and drama.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Tomb located in a vineyard on the road to Tivoli". Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The engraving shows a tomb located in a vineyard on the road to Tivoli. The artist demonstrates the appearance of the tomb, depicting it in the foreground from a low point of view. Thanks to this, the structure stands out against the background of the landscape and rises above the viewer.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Large sarcophagus and candelabra from the mausoleum of St. Constance in Rome". Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The engraving shows a sarcophagus and a candelabra found in the mausoleum of Constance (c. 318-354), daughter of Emperor Constantine the Great. Piranesi reproduced one of the sides of the porphyrated sarcophagus depicting vines and Cupids crushing grapes. The side of the lid is decorated with a Silenus mask and a garland. As Piranesi noted, the marble chandelier serves as a model for artists in the 15th century, and remains a model for lovers of beauty. Currently, the sarcophagus and chandelier are kept in the Pio Clementine Museum in Rome.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Fragment of the facade of the tomb of Caecilia Metella". Sheet from the suite "Views of Rome" 1762 Etching, cutter, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Piranesi quite accurately reproduced the upper part of the tomb of Caecilia Metella with a dilapidated cornice and a frieze decorated with bull skulls and garlands. The name of the buried woman is inscribed on the marble slab: Caecilia Metella, daughter of Quintus of Crete, wife of Crassus.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Tomb of Caecilia Metella". Sheet from the suite "Views of Rome" 1762 Etching, cutter, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Plan, facade, vertical section and masonry details of the tomb of Caecilia Metella". Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Several engravings of the series are dedicated to the tomb of Caecilia Metella. The massive cylindrical structure was erected around 50 BC. on the Appian Way near Rome. In the Middle Ages, it was turned into a castle with a battlement built on top in the form of "swallowtails". For a detailed depiction of the monument, Piranesi used a two-tier compositional scheme borrowed from Pietro Santi Bartolli from the book Ancient Tombs ”(1697)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Adjustments for lifting large traventine stones used in the construction of the tomb of Caecilia Metella." Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin.

Piranesi's engraving depicts metal devices for lifting massive stone slabs, one of which was familiar to Piranesi's contemporaries under the name "ulivella". It was believed that Vitruvius wrote about it in the 1st century BC under the name "tanaglia", and in the 15th century it was rediscovered by another architect, Filippo Bruneleschi. According to Piranesi, the instruments of Vitruvius and Bruneleschi are different from each other and the advantage was behind the ancient, easier to use

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "The Underground Part of the Foundation of the Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian". Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The engraving shows the underground part of the foundation of the Mausoleum of Hadrian (Castle of the Holy Angel). The artist greatly exaggerated the size of the structure, depicting only part of a giant vertical ledge (buttress). The artist admires the regularity and beauty of ancient masonry, revealing the plasticity of stones with the help of sharp light and shade contrasts.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi View of the bridge and mausoleum. erected by Emperor Hadrian. Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian (Castle of the Holy Angel) has repeatedly become the object of close attention of Piranesi. The tomb was built under Emperor Hadrian around 134-138. The ashes of many representatives of the imperial house rested here. In X, the building was taken over by a patrician of the Creshenci family, who turned the tomb into a fortress. In the 13th century, under Pope Nicholas III, the castle was connected to the Vatican Palace and became the papal citadel. A prison was set up in the lower rooms.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Mausoleum and Bridge of Emperor Hadrian. Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

This large sheet consists of 2 prints, conceived as a single unit and printed from 2 boards.

Left side. The artist showed a section of the bridge with an underground part and carefully reproduced the underground masonry. He gives curious details of the construction of the bridge piers: it was believed that Hadrian either directed the Tiber in another direction, or blocked its channel with a palisade, allowing it to flow on one side. Piranesi admired the strength of the structure, which can withstand frequent floods. In 3 center arched openings, the water level in the Tiber is shown depending on the season (from left to right V) December, June and August. Interestingly, the artist supplemented the technical drawing with landscape elements with views of the banks of the Tiber.

The wall of the mausoleum and its underground part are depicted on the right side. As Piranesi writes, the mausoleum “was covered with rich marbles, decorated with numerous statues depicting people, horses, chariots and other most valuable sculptures that Hadrian collected on a trip made through the Roman Empire; now, devoid of ˂…˃ all its ornaments ˂…˃, it looks like a large, shapeless mass of masonry.” At a later time, the upper part of the mausoleum (A-B) was faced with brick. The artist also suggested that the height of the tower of the mausoleum is 3 times the height of the foundation (F-G). Piranesi paid great attention to the underground part of the structure, built from rows of tuff, traventine and stone fragments, reinforced with buttresses and special arches (M).

Giovanni Battista Piranesi - Entrance to the Upper Room of the Mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian. Sheet from the series "Roman Antiquities" 1756 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin.

The entrance leading to the upper room of the mausoleum of Emperor Andrian is depicted. In the 16th-17th centuries it was used for court sessions and was called the Hall of Justice. The entrance is made of huge blocks of travesty stone, so powerful and durable that Piranesi compared them to the famous Egyptian pyramids. As the artist noted, the arch is excellently reinforced on the sides, as it is forced to withstand the enormous weight of the masonry above it. The protrusions that were used to lift the blocks during construction are clearly visible on the stone.

In 1762, a new work by Pironesi was published, dedicated to the topography of the Field of Mars - the middle of ancient Rome - a vast territory on the left bank of the Tiber, bordering the Capitol, the Quirinal and the Pincio hill. This theoretical work consisted of a text based on classical sources; and 50 engravings, including a huge topographic map Field of Mars, "Iconography" with which Piranesi began work on the collection.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "The 'Iconography' or Plan of the Campus Martius of Ancient Rome". 1757 Sheet from the series “The Field of Mars of Ancient Rome”, a work by G. B. Piranesi, a member of the Royal Society of Antiquarians of London. 1762" Etching, cutter, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

In 1757 Piranesi engraved a huge map-reconstruction of the Campus Martius of the late empire. This idea was prompted to the artist by an ancient monumental plan of ancient Rome, carved on marble slabs under Emperor Septimius Severus in 201-0211. A fragment of this plan was discovered in 1562 and was kept at the time of Piranesi in the Capitoline Museum. Piranesi dedicated the plan to the Scottish architect Robert Adam, a friend of the artist. It is believed that it was Adam who persuaded him to start working on the composition of the Field of Mars from this map, the most important work of the master, which became the Anthology of Architectural Ideas!, which excited the imagination of architects until the 21st century.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Capitoline Stones…1762” Etching, cutter, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The title page is made in the form of a stone slab with a Latin name carved on it. The slab is decorated with reliefs pointing to the glorious past of Rome and its rulers. Above, among the mythological characters, the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, are represented, and large statesmen- Julius Caesar, Lucius Brutus, Emperor Octavian Augustus. Piranesi uses decorative motifs traditional for ancient Roman art: garlands of laurel branches, cornucopia, ram's heads. The same motifs appear in Piranesi's projects of applied things.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Theatres of Balba, Marcellus, Statius Taurus Amphitheater, Pantheon" from the series "Field of Mars" ... 1762 "Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

Piranesi reconstructs the densely built-up quarters of the ancient Campus Martius from a bird's eye view.

The upper engraving on the left shows a stone theater built by Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger, a Roman general and playwright in 13 BC. On the right is another theater building- theater of Marcellus, the second stone theater in Rome (after the theater of Pompey)

The middle engraving shows the famous Pantheon and the gardens behind it, the artificial lake and the Baths of Agrippa.

Below is the first stone amphitheater in Rome, built in 29 BC, on the square in front of it - a sundial, installed by order of Emperor Augustus. These reconstructions had a powerful impact on the formation of architecture, in particular, they significantly influenced the minds of Soviet architects of the 20th century.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Marble tablets with lists of Roman consuls and victors" sheets for the series "Capitoline Stones" Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

The engraving shows preserved marble tablets with a list of Roman consuls and victors from the founding of Rome to the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37). From the inscription carved on the upper slab, it follows that in ancient times the tablets were installed in the Roman Forum.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi "Examples of Roman Ionic capitals in comparison with Greek, righteous at Le Roy" sheets for the series "On the grandeur and architecture of the Romans" 1761 Etching, chisel, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin

This sheet is Piranesi's graphic response to J.D. Le Roy "The ruins of the most beautiful monuments of Greece" 1758. Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian Giovanni Battista Piranesi, or Italian Giambattista Piranesi; October 4, 1720, Mogliano Veneto (near the city of Treviso) - November 9, 1778, Rome) - Italian archaeologist, architect and graphic artist, master of architectural landscapes. He had a strong influence on subsequent generations of romantic style artists and - later - on the surrealists. He made a large number of drawings and drawings, but erected few buildings, so the concept of "paper architecture" is associated with his name.

Born in the family of a stonemason. Learned the basics of Latin and classical literature with his older brother Angelo. He comprehended the basics of architecture while working in the magistrate of Venice under the guidance of his uncle. As an artist, he was significantly influenced by the art of the Vedutists, which was very popular in the middle of the 18th century in Venice.

In 1740 he went to Rome as a graphic artist as part of the embassy delegation of Marco Foscarini. In Rome, enthusiastically explored ancient architecture. Along the way, he studied in the workshop of Giuseppe Vasi the art of engraving on metal. In the years 1743-1747 he lived mostly in Venice, where, among other things, he worked with Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

In 1743 he published in Rome his first series of engravings entitled "The first part of architectural sketches and perspectives, invented and engraved by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a Venetian architect." In it you can see the main features of his style - the desire and ability to depict monumental and difficult to comprehend by the eye architectural compositions and spaces. Some sheets of this small series are similar to engravings of Piranesi's most famous series "Fantastic images of dungeons".

In the next 25 years, until his death, he lived in Rome; created a huge number of engravings, etchings, depicting mainly architectural and archaeological finds associated with ancient Rome, and views of the famous places of that Rome, which surrounded the artist. Piranesi's performance, like his skill, is incomprehensible. He conceives and executes a multi-volume edition of etchings under the general title "Roman Antiquities", containing images of architectural monuments of ancient Rome, capitals of columns of ancient buildings, sculptural fragments, sarcophagi, stone vases, candelabra, paving slabs, tombstones, building plans and urban ensembles. .

Throughout his life he worked on a series of engravings "Views of Rome" (Vedute di Roma). These are very large sheets (on average, about 40 cm high and 60-70 cm wide), which have preserved for us the appearance of Rome in the 18th century. Delight ancient civilization Rome and the understanding of the inevitability of its death, when on the site of majestic buildings modern people busy with their modest daily affairs - this is the main motive of these engravings.

A special place in the work of Piranesi is occupied by a series of engravings "Fantastic Images of Prisons", better known simply as "Dungeons". These architectural fantasies were first published in 1749. Ten years later, Piranesi returned to this work and created practically new works on the same copper plates. "Dungeons" are gloomy and frightening in their size and lack of comprehensible logic architectural constructions, where the spaces are mysterious, as the purpose of these stairs, bridges, passages, blocks and chains is incomprehensible. The power of stone structures is overwhelming. Creating the second version of the "Dungeon", the artist dramatized the original compositions: he deepened the shadows, added many details and human figures - either jailers or prisoners tied to torture devices.

Over the past decades, the fame and glory of Piranesi has been growing every year. More and more books about him are published and best museums world arrange exhibitions of his work. Piranesi is probably the most famous artist, who gained such fame only for graphics, unlike other great engravers, who were, in addition, great painters (

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian Giovanni Battista Piranesi, or Italian Giambattista Piranesi; October 4, 1720, Mogliano Veneto (near the city of Treviso) - November 9, 1778, Rome) - Italian archaeologist, architect and graphic artist, master of architectural landscapes. He had a strong influence on subsequent generations of artists of the romantic style and - later - on the surrealists. He made a large number of drawings and drawings, but erected few buildings, so the concept of "paper architecture" is associated with his name.

Born in the family of a stonemason. He learned the basics of Latin and classical literature from his older brother Angelo. He comprehended the basics of architecture while working in the magistrate of Venice under the guidance of his uncle. As an artist, he was significantly influenced by the art of vedutists, which was very popular in the middle of the 18th century in Venice.

In 1740 he went to Rome as a graphic artist as part of the embassy delegation of Marco Foscarini. In Rome, he enthusiastically explored ancient architecture. Along the way, he studied in the workshop of Giuseppe Vasi the art of engraving on metal. In 1743-1747 he lived mostly in Venice, where, among other things, he worked with Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

In 1743 he published in Rome his first series of engravings entitled "The first part of architectural sketches and perspectives invented and engraved by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a Venetian architect." In it you can see the main features of his style - the desire and ability to depict monumental and difficult to comprehend by the eye architectural compositions and spaces. Some sheets of this small series are similar to engravings of Piranesi's most famous series, Fantastic Images of Prisons.

In the next 25 years, until his death, he lived in Rome; created a huge number of engravings, depicting mainly architectural and archaeological finds associated with ancient Rome, and views of the famous places of that Rome, which surrounded the artist. Piranesi's performance, like his skill, is incomprehensible. He conceives and executes a multi-volume edition of etchings under the general title "Roman Antiquities", containing images of architectural monuments of ancient Rome, capitals of columns of ancient buildings, sculptural fragments, sarcophagi, stone vases, candelabra, paving slabs, tombstones, building plans and urban ensembles. .

Throughout his life he worked on a series of engravings "Views of Rome" (Vedute di Roma). These are very large sheets (on average, about 40 cm high and 60-70 cm wide), which have preserved for us the appearance of Rome in the 18th century. The admiration of the ancient civilization of Rome and the understanding of the inevitability of its death, when modern people are busy with their modest daily affairs on the site of majestic buildings, is the main motive of these engravings.

A special place in the work of Piranesi is occupied by a series of engravings "Fantastic Images of Prisons", better known as simply "Prisons". These architectural fantasies were first published in 1749. Ten years later, Piranesi returned to this work and created practically new works on the same copper boards. "Prisons" are gloomy and frightening architectural structures with their size and lack of comprehensible logic, where the spaces are mysterious, just as the purpose of these stairs, bridges, passages, blocks and chains is incomprehensible. The power of stone structures is overwhelming. Creating the second version of Prisons, the artist dramatized the original compositions: he deepened the shadows, added many details and human figures - either jailers or prisoners tied to torture devices.

Over the past decades, the fame and glory of Piranesi has been growing every year. More and more books about him are published and the best museums in the world organize exhibitions of his works. Piranesi is probably the most famous artist who gained such fame only by graphics, unlike other great engravers who were, in addition, great painters (Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya).

Interest in the ancient world manifested itself in archeology. A year before his death, Piranesi explored the ancient Greek temples at Paestum, then almost unknown, and created a beautiful series of large engravings dedicated to this ensemble.

In the field of practical architecture, Piranesi's activity was very modest, although he himself never forgot to add the words "Venetian architect" after his name on the title pages of his engraving suites. But in the 18th century, the era of monumental construction in Rome had already ended.

In 1763, Pope Clement XIII commissioned Piranesi to build a choir in the church of San Giovanni in Laterano. The main work of Piranesi in the field of real, "stone" architecture was the restructuring of the church of Santa Maria Aventina (1764-1765).

Died after a long illness; buried in the church of Santa Maria del Priorato.

After the death of the artist, his family moved to Paris, where, among other things, the works of Giovanni Battista Piranesi were sold in their engraving shop. Engraved copper plates were also transported to Paris. Subsequently, after changing several owners, they were acquired by the Pope and are currently located in Rome, in the State Calcography.

Sources - Wikipedia and

It is clear that no Romans built the city of Aspend (Aspendos), in cities such as Aspend, Baalbek, someone lived taller than people.
I propose to start by looking at the work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1778, an Italian engraver and architect

and Hubert Robert, 1733-1808, French landscape painter

Ruins of past civilizations. Part 1. Hubert Robert

Drawings and engravings by Piranesi, Hubert Robert and other artists - ruinists, in my opinion, testify to a strong flood that took place in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, but what caused the disaster is still a mystery.
Original taken from maximus101 to Aspend - city of giants

The ruins of the ancient city of Aspend (Aspendos) are located 45 kilometers from Turkish Antalya. This is a popular tourist destination, the city is relatively easily accessible and has interesting architectural monuments. Here are well-preserved antique theater and the ruins of a Roman aqueduct (the largest in Asia Minor). There are many other very impressive ancient ruins.
Unfortunately, very little is known about the history of the city, despite its easy accessibility, the city has been poorly explored. Personally, Aspend made a strong impression on me, I think that it surpasses the famous Ephesus in terms of entertainment and is not inferior to Pergamum. Here you can observe the Roman architectural megalomania in all its glory - the entire territory of Aspend is filled with cyclopean buildings that no one cares about, since most tourists, as a rule, are limited to visiting only the theater and the aqueduct.

According to legend, Aspend was founded by the Greek hero Pug in the 12th century. BC. after the Trojan War. True, it must be admitted that legends attribute to Mops the foundation of almost all ancient cities in the south of Asia Minor. Therefore, the first intelligible mention of Aspend is Strabo's message about the resettlement of colonists from Greek Argos to the city in the 7th century BC.

Unfortunately, historians left only indirect information about the city itself, for example, the famous naval battle at the Eurymedon River between Greeks and Persians took place near Aspend in the 5th century BC. BC. Or there is a mention of the obstinacy of the inhabitants of the city during its conquest by Alexander the Great. An interesting testimony is the tribute that the citizens of Aspend had to pay to Iskander the Two-horned - he demanded 4 thousand horses. Apparently, Aspend was a major center of horse breeding, although it seems that the south of Asia Minor is not at all the steppes of Central Anatolia. Perhaps Aspend was somehow connected with the old Hittite states, where horse breeding flourished.

But, the real prosperity in Aspend came during the time of the Roman Empire. All the current large buildings in the city were erected at this time. And the most important building of Aspend was a huge amphitheater, it was built in 155 by the local architect Zenon.

The facade of the theater was rebuilt by the Seljuk Turks.

The theater rests partly on a hill at the back. In the distance, invisible because of the green vegetation, flows the river Eurymedon (now Keprusu), which contributed to the flourishing of the city.

The Roman theater in Aspend is well preserved, as its building was reconstructed in the Middle Ages by the Seljuk Turks. They turned the theater into a fortified palace, this happened during the reign of Alaaddin Keykubad, and later the palace became a caravanserai.

The entrance to the theater is crowned with a characteristic Seljuk brick arch.

Various performances and concerts are still held in the theater, the acoustics are good here. The theater can accommodate more than 8 thousand spectators at the same time. Probably such was the number of inhabitants of the Roman Aspend in the 2nd century. AD

Several female masks and a figure of some deity in the center have been preserved on the wall of the theatre's skene.

The upper gallery of the theatre.

Interesting brick decorative columns, this is apparently also a Seljuk creation.

The wall of the skene of the theater is not its outer wall, the outer wall, most likely, was also rebuilt by the Seljuks. They erected a characteristic facade with windows, in Roman times there was no point in windows, but they were necessary for the Turkish palace. The ceilings were all wooden, I did not notice any traces of arches or vaults in the central part of the skene. The palace premises of the Seljuks were squeezed between the skene and the outer wall of the theatre. Now nothing is left of them, the walls of the theater rise as if in some kind of gorge.

View from the "theatrical" hill to the acropolis of Aspenda. Once it was the center of the city, now everything has collapsed and is overgrown with shrubs, but the most important building of the city, the Roman basilica, has been preserved.

Plan of Aspend (clickable).

On the hillside of the acropolis lie the ruins of the stadium. Unfortunately, it was poorly excavated, and a significant part of its arches became secondary building material.

But, part of the stands of the stadium can still be seen.

The ruins of some kind of arch, most likely a triumphal one, since the line of fortifications was left far behind. The remains of the city's drainage system are visible in the foreground.

The fortress walls and towers of the city have completely disappeared, and the arches of the gates are standing, miracles.

Foundation of the main temple of Aspendos. Apparently, it was a classic peripter temple, only nothing remains of it. It may have been the oldest structure in the city.

The roofs of the temple were clearly tiled, judging by the heaps of pottery.

And here again the main basilica of the city, this cyclopean building is noticeable from everywhere. In Roman times, the main city court was held in the basilica. But, apparently, the building was used at a later time, as evidenced by the built-on walls made of fine stone. It can be assumed that the structure began to carry defensive functions, since it bears little resemblance to a church. Perhaps the basilica became a donjon - the main tower of the Aspenda fortress.

On the left, the ruins of the bouleuterium (seat of the city council) and the basilica.

The basilica is truly a cyclopean building, next to the huge arches you feel like an insect.

Interior view of the Basilica. It is noticeable that the level of the ground inside the building (and outside) has risen greatly - near the ground itself, in the thickness of the late masonry, inside the arch, holes for wooden beams that carried the floors, i.e. there is still at least half a floor of the building in the ground.
At the same time, the upper overlaps are traced weakly. What was the internal structure of the basilicas under the Romans is well known, but how this building was used further, and what was its internal structure - there is a great mystery.

Since the 7th century, the Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor were subjected to endless raids by the Arabs, it was a very dark page in history. this region. How the local population survived, one can only guess. Gradually, the city fell into complete decline.

Upon further inspection, it turned out that the building of the basilica was not a separate structure. It was a whole complex stretched for 130 meters or more. Long walls extend from the cubic tower to the southwest. Moreover, the structure of these walls is the same as that of the main building - at the bottom there is solid Roman masonry of large stone blocks, but the higher, the smaller the stones.

How this elongated structure was used is not entirely clear, perhaps it was an indoor market, similar medieval markets are well known in the Middle East.

The market had several naves, and you can’t immediately understand how many. On the plan of this structure, there are three main naves and another on the side. Moreover, not all walls reached the main cubic building, although at its southern (opposite) end, this building looked like another elongated three-nave basilica, in which the width of the naves corresponds to the width of the arches of the cubic tower - in the center there is a wide nave and two narrow ones on the side. In general, everything together looked like a huge elongated covered bazaar - 140 meters long and 30 meters wide.

The structure of the walls of this elongated basilica is interesting, it is noticeable that the wall rises in ledges, gradually narrowing. In some places, window-openings are visible - either to illuminate the object, or floor beams were inserted into these openings. The lower floor of the building is an endless row of arches.

This huge building overlooked the agora - the main market square of the city. In the background you can see the wall of the nymphaeum - a public fountain.

Little tourists scurry among the majestic ruins of Roman basilicas.

These walls rise on the other side of the agora, it is believed that these are the ruins of trading shops.

General view of the Agora of Aspenda.

Nymphaeum wall.

Some marble parts of the fountain are still preserved.

The entire territory of the acropolis is overgrown with dense and exceptionally thorny shrubs, you can only walk along the paths.

If time permits, walking along the acropolis, you can find among the thickets a significant number of later ruins of the city, as a rule, Byzantine. Their safety is significantly worse than that of the ruins of the Roman Empire, since the Byzantines built from small stones in mortar - after earthquakes, such structures are piles of chaotic gray debris.

In the ruins, very significant structures are also identified, perhaps the remains of the bishop's palace in the photo. In Aspend there was a separate diocese, which was part of the Metropolis of Sid.
Strange as it may seem, but I could not identify at least one object in the city as a church. Although, of course, there were churches here, perhaps the main basilica was a Christian temple, but I have no evidence of this.

From the northwestern slope of the mountain of the acropolis, the giant Aspenda aqueduct is visible - this is the second most important tourist attraction here after the Roman theater. It is believed that the height of the arches of this aqueduct exceeds all similar ones in Asia Minor.

We will then come closer to the aqueduct, for this we will need to go around the entire mountain of the Citadel clockwise, since I did not find a descent directly from the acropolis to the aqueduct.

So far, a couple of photos of this grandiose structure.

Descending from the acropolis, I accidentally discovered an interesting object. Directly under the long basilica, down the slope, the builders erected an imposing platform with arches. The platform keeps two impressive tunnels going deep into the mountain.

General view of the Acropolis of Aspenda. On the left is a mysterious platform with tunnels. The structure with arches is in line with the dilapidated walls of the citadel (they can be seen in the bushes).

The first thought is that this is either a city sewer - a local Roman cloaca, or cisterns for storing water. But, upon closer inspection, strange details are revealed. Already at a distance of 15 meters deep, the tunnels are blocked by impressive walls, in which passages are made, and narrow loopholes are even visible above them. Of course, the partitions here are designed to prevent the enemy from entering the tunnels. But how then should sewage be poured out of these pipes - through these small passages? Isn't it easier to make the diameter of the tunnel narrower, then you won't have to defend it.

Behind the partition, the tunnel continues with a long vaulted cistern with a ceiling 5-6 meters high.

And then, as expected, it narrows to a small corridor.
Therefore, the option with sewerage is eliminated. These are most likely cisterns, otherwise it is impossible to explain such a large internal volume of the vaulted halls. But, why were they made visible from the outside and generally open? It would be possible to make vertical wells to calmly extract water from tanks. By the way, such wells are present next to the platform of the temple on the acropolis. On the map of the city, tanks are indicated there, but this object is not marked at all.

I tried to go deeper into the mountain of the acropolis, walking along a narrow corridor, but somehow the end of it was not noticeable. I did not take a flashlight with me, so the only source of light for me here was the flash of the camera. After a few tens of meters, I realized that the darkness behind me was the same as in front, and it was not clear how long this would continue. I decided that the exploration of the tunnel should be left for another time, since wandering through the dungeons of Aspend was not part of my plans at that time.

Of course, this whole underground structure is connected with water, since characteristic salt deposits are clearly visible on the walls of the corridor. But, it is more likely to assume that this system is designed to conserve water, i.e. These are not sewers, but cisterns for collecting rainwater.
But many details remain unclear. Why does the building not have an outer wall? Although, it is worth recognizing that some part of the walls can be traced under the arches, but these walls clearly did not completely close the tanks. This is also evidenced by partitions with loopholes inside the halls, if they were erected, then the builders were aware that the tanks were leaking so much that enemies were allowed to penetrate inside.

General view of one of the tanks. In the foreground, its outer wall is visible.

External view of both tanks. Apparently, they were always only half filled with water, and were quite accessible from the outside. It is for this reason that an internal partition with loopholes was erected.

An explanation for this careless location of the strategic water reservoir may be the location of the city's outer walls. Perhaps the inhabitants of Aspend felt quite safe on their acropolis due to the fortress walls located below. Only now I almost did not find their ruins, only insignificant remains. The fortifications of the citadel itself are much better preserved; their foundations can at least be traced along the edge of the castle hill.

We leave the acropolis of the city and go to the ruins of the aqueduct. To do this, I needed to make a big circle around the acropolis, ideally, it is better to go by car here. But, the walking route allows you to see the ruins of Roman buildings on the plain, and there are a lot of them.

The city was huge, its ruins stretching almost to the Eurymedon River. True, only large buildings - baths and gymnasiums - are relatively well preserved.

Closer to the road are the ruins of the thermal baths of the city. A dilapidated canal for water, which in the foreground, most likely, is of later origin; for a Roman plumbing, it looks somehow undignified.

It is noticeable that the baths were used a second time, numerous nests for wooden floor beams were preserved in their walls. It would seem, why does a building with mighty brick vaults need wooden floors? Most likely, the wooden roof was adapted when the vaults either already collapsed or were close to it. Also, wooden floors made it possible to make the baths a multi-storey building. Among the Romans, the high halls of thermae naturally did not have any wooden partitions.

Nests from wooden beams divide the thermal hall into two floors. At what time such "innovative" works were produced is unknown. The walls of the term are massive, so they could serve for many generations - the building could be a residential building or a fortified palace.

External facade of the Aspenda baths.

And then, in a completely wild thicket, I noticed the building of the gymnasium (as it is indicated on the plan). This building is not inferior in size to the basilica, standing in the acropolis. The only trouble is that it is very overgrown with bushes, even just getting close to it is a serious problem.

I still managed to get to the walls, but I couldn’t get inside, the entire area of ​​​​the gymnasium inside is solid thickets.
The building consists of three naves - two naves on the sides with an incredible width of vaults and one small nave in the center, its arch remained unscathed. And judging by the abundance of other arches of the central nave, the gymnasium was already a multi-storey building in the Roman era.

Facade of the gymnasium.

Side.

The central nave of the gymnasium.

And once again the collapsed vault of the side nave.

After examining the Roman ruins in the orange bushes, we will move to the most epic structure of Aspend - its aqueduct.
The basis of the highest part of the aqueduct is a tower 40-50 meters high. You can climb a spiral staircase to the top of the tower, but access there is closed.

The lower part of the tower is made of stone blocks, and the top is made of bricks.

Tourists are taken to the aqueduct by buses, so a spontaneous market for souvenirs, fruits, etc. has developed next to it.

Aspenda Aqueduct Bridge.

Several sections of the aqueduct bridge have been preserved, and on the other side of the valley a second tower. Its total length is 19 km.
There is an assumption that the Aspend aqueduct did not function for long - about 150 years, it was created in the 2-3 centuries AD, and already in the 3-4 centuries. some of its parts went to the construction of a bridge across the Eurymedon River. By the way, this bridge is very impressive; in the Middle Ages, it was also reconstructed by the Seljuks. But, unfortunately, I forgot to shoot it.

In general, Aspend is the place where I would like to return...

My other posts about Turkey.

Recorded authentic evidence of the existence of pre-earthly civilization.

Article by Anton Zubov. It's practically a sensation!

And all thanks to the fact that previously hidden scans of his engravings began to appear on the network.

While studying Piranesi's paintings, he discovered another proof of the existence of ANTs.
GODS that were destroyed by YHWH after he took over the earth.

In total, the picture shows 5 skulls, at least I saw 5. It seems that parts of the skeleton are visible, but there is no certainty.

Let's compare the sizes of the ANT skull and the human head.

The proportions of the picture are respected. The people in the picture stand even farther than the skulls lie.

Believe the picture or not you decide! But in the piggy bank of the hypothesis about the antediluvian ancient empire with the gods ANTs, this engraving fits perfectly.

Here is the bone in the picture, see its size compared to the shield.

Now let's take a look here:

Is the skeleton and at least 4 skulls visible to everyone (+ 1 split on a pillar)?

Apparently, other similar paintings were destroyed or seized by censorship, but here it is very likely that the artist left a hint with which to compare the size of the skull (with the soldiers on the ornament).

Note that the skulls are at least 2.5-3 times the size of the heads of soldiers

Unfortunately, Piranesi himself has similar ornaments depicting living people for comparison. failed, but here is what other artists of the same era draw:

As you can see, in all the paintings, living people are depicted approximately the same height (but not with a difference of 2-3 times), as well as the statues on the ornaments.

Of course, ornaments and comparisons with some engravings by crazy artists cannot serve as proof of the existence of giants, but then what to do with these comrades:

The Smithsonian Institution is required to release documents confirming the destruction in the early twentieth century "in order to cover up scientific facts and preserving the inviolability of the theory of human evolution" of tens of thousands (!) of artifacts - the skeletons of giant people found in various parts of the American continent.

This decision was made by the US Supreme Court following a lengthy investigation by the American Institute for Alternative Archeology (AIAA), which had long suspected that tens of thousands of human remains belonging to "people" of enormous growth were destroyed by the Smithsonian in the 1900s.

The statement of claim asserted that the remains of giant people, about which nothing was known from historical documents, but which were mentioned both in ancient literature and in religious texts, were destroyed for the sole purpose of not questioning the historical theory of the emergence and development of mankind. That is, when it turned out that the facts did not correspond to the theory, then instead of rethinking the theory, they preferred not only to brush aside the facts, but also to destroy them.

The Smithsonian Institution denied everything for a long time, but then some of its employees admitted the existence of documents confirming the destruction of the skeletons of giant people. In addition, the court was presented with a 1.3 m long femur that had been stolen from the institute's collection and therefore not destroyed. It was kept for a long time by a high-ranking employee of the institute who stole it (or, more precisely, saved it from destruction), who in his will told about this bone and about the secret operations carried out at the institute. The demonstration of this bone became a key moment during the trial.

By a court decision, the institute is obliged to declassify and publish these documents during 2015, but a special commission can adjust the timing of publication - after all, the recognition of the existence of a previously unknown race of giant people in the past can practically destroy modern historical science, refuting its main provisions ...

An excerpt from an old session:

After the Second Flood (Great), the remnants crawled out of Egypt, ragged and barely alive. It is clear that not everyone was in such a distress and not only in Egypt, but this is what I saw about that moment. The Atlanteans were tall, possessed Knowledge and began to teach people, honestly arranged their life and desired comfort. They were all very important and suffered from pride. It was sad for me to remember and realize this.

People were treated with disdain. In my understanding, as to cats. I want to stroke, I want to move my foot away. People were up to our knees somewhere. The physique of the Atlanteans is slender, broad-shouldered with narrow hips. The skin of the Atlanteans was bronze or golden. Six-fingered.

Finger 38 cm long found in Egypt

Footprint about 1.5 meters long in the Dragon Park (Primorye)

From here

Sita foot:

We read in the topic:

Original taken from sibved in Continuing the St. Petersburg theme
There are niches on the facade of the Hermitage, which has a portico with atlantes.

They have sculptures. It appears to be made of metal, presumably bronze. This composition directly demonstrates the student and the teacher. By the way, this helmet is massively represented in the ornament of the arch of the General Staff and on the bas-relief of the pedestal of the Alexandrian Column:

Anomaly or ancient genes?

Your opinion?

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