Sixteenth-century Rome in Speculum engravings, on display at Casa Buonarroti in Florence

The exhibition Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae. Rome in Sixteenth-Century Engraving, on the premises of Casa Buonarroti in Florence. The exhibition presents to the public about fifty engravings from the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: this expression was used at the time to indicate the collections of engravings that depicted the monuments and statues of ancient and modern Rome and that were published by the printing house in Via del Parione by the French publisher Antoine Lafréry, who in 1573 published the index of prints that could be purchased in his workshop. Thus was born the custom, on the part of travelers, antiquarians and collectors, of commissioning from Lafréry’s print shop collections of engravings that were then gathered into volumes that, since the early 1570s, assumed, precisely, the title Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae.

A publishing practice whose origins can be traced back to when, beginning in 1528, the Milanese publisher Antonio Salamanca began producing engravings with archaeological subjects, later associating himself, from 1553, with Lafréry himself: after Salamanca’s demise, Lafréry (who had been present in Rome since 1544) continued alone and achieved extraordinary success, so much so that after him the tradition was carried on (though with lesser results) by his nephew Claude Duchet and the latter’s brother-in-law, Giacomo Gherardi. Given the variety of sheets and the number of subjects, each specimen of the Speculum can be considered a work in itself, not least because, in the collections, Lafréry often included elements produced by other printers, Roman or Venetian.

The Casa Buonarroti owns a specimen of the Speculum consisting of eighty-four engravings: fifty-two are on display in the exhibition, with subjects ranging from ancient and modern buildings to Roman statues and reliefs. The exhibition can be visited during the opening hours of Casa Buonarroti: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., every day except Tuesdays and August 15, which is closed. Tickets: full 6.50 euros, reduced 4.50 euros.

Pictured: Theatrum sive Coliseum romanum, engraving depicting the Colosseum, published by Antoine Lafréry.

Sixteenth-century Rome in Speculum engravings, on display at Casa Buonarroti in Florence

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