Rediscovering the PArCo through the eyes of Piranesi: a glimpse of the past, etched forever…

 Download the APP from the stores; click here for the USER MANUAL!

Giambattista Piranesi (Venice 1720 – Rome 1778) was an architect, engraver, archaeologist, Venetian by birth and Roman by adoption. The preservation of the charm of ancient Rome on the threshold of modernity, before the advent of photographic techniques, owes much to Piranesi’s work, which found extraordinary diffusion and success throughout the world, thanks to the serial reproduction made possible at the time by the etching technique. In particular, the engravings of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine soon became the icons par excellence of the monuments of a Rome that had not yet completely disappeared, as seen and experienced by eighteenth-century travellers, and that was about to experience its first season of great archaeological excavations.

On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Piranesi’s birth, therefore, the Parco archeologico del Colosseo, in collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica and with the contribution of Kuwait Petroleum Italia, decided to create an application for smartphones that allows the virtual exploration of a wide selection of views dedicated to the monuments of the PArCo, highlighting their graphic and historical peculiarities with in-depth texts. The period views have been accompanied by images of the current state of the places, specially produced, to allow comparison also to interested users who cannot go there.

Click on the photo and watch the TRAILER!

The App, curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli, has been conceived both as a guide to be used during a visit to the PArCo, and as a journey through time to be experienced wherever you are in the world with your smartphone or tablet, which is nowadays essential in times of pandemic. In fact, Piranesi’s genius will take users far into the heart of 18th-century Rome, along an itinerary that is familiar to many but always full of surprises and details to discover or rediscover.

The experience is completed by an extensive gallery of images of monuments portrayed in other periods and by different authors, and two in-depth video-documentaries, “L’acquaforte” and “Reprinting Piranesi”, produced by the PArCo at the Stamperia of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica and dedicated respectively to the technique of etching and to the reprinting, a rare event, of an engraving of the Colosseum valley from an original Piranesi matrix.

Click on the photo and watch the video of “Reprinting Piranesi”!

The application, which is free for users, includes translation into LIS and audio-reading of the entire text.

The itinerary

The Piranesi itinerary in the PArCo, which can be followed either on site or remotely, consists of 34 stops, corresponding to the same number of etchings, located from the southern slopes of the Palatine Hill to the Trajan Column, passing through Vigna Barberini, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, where most of the views are concentrated.

In order to help the visitor in his orientation, a series of illustrated panels of the main views has been installed inside the PArCo.

CREDITS

“Il PArCo di Piranesi”

An initiative of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (Director: Alfonsina Russo).
In collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (ICG).

Curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli with Davide Criscuolo.
Realised by Flaviano Pizzardi.

An initiative of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (Director: Alfonsina Russo).
In collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (ICG).

Curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli with Davide Criscuolo.
Created by Flaviano Pizzardi.

Promoted by the Fundraising Office (PArCo): Alfonsina Russo (responsible), Ines Arletti, Francesca Boldrighini, Elisa Cella, Andrea Schiappelli.

Texts: Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli, with Davide Criscuolo.
Translations: Ryan Audino.
Voices: Alex Elton, Douglas Dean.
Adaptation for accessibility in Italian Sign Language: Violante Nonno, Nicola Della Maggiora, Cristiano Iacoangeli (CREI, LIS interpreters).

Istituto Centrale per la Grafica

Responsible of the Calcoteca: Giovanna Scaloni.
Responsible of the Photographic Laboratory: Giuseppe Renzitti.
Photographers: Antonio Iorio, Mauro Benedetti, Alfredo Corrao.
Responsible for the ICG Print Shop: Lucia Ghedin.
Chalcographers: Matteo Maria Borsoi and Fabio Ascenzi.

                             Withi the contibution of:

Rediscovering the PArCo through the eyes of Piranesi: a glimpse of the past, etched forever…

 

 

 Download the APP from the stores; click here for the USER MANUAL!

 

 

Giambattista Piranesi (Venice 1720 – Rome 1778) was an architect, engraver, archaeologist, Venetian by birth and Roman by adoption. The preservation of the charm of ancient Rome on the threshold of modernity, before the advent of photographic techniques, owes much to Piranesi’s work, which found extraordinary diffusion and success throughout the world, thanks to the serial reproduction made possible at the time by the etching technique. In particular, the engravings of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine soon became the icons par excellence of the monuments of a Rome that had not yet completely disappeared, as seen and experienced by eighteenth-century travellers, and that was about to experience its first season of great archaeological excavations.

On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Piranesi’s birth, therefore, the Parco archeologico del Colosseo, in collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica and with the contribution of Kuwait Petroleum Italia, decided to create an application for smartphones that allows the virtual exploration of a wide selection of views dedicated to the monuments of the PArCo, highlighting their graphic and historical peculiarities with in-depth texts. The period views have been accompanied by images of the current state of the places, specially produced, to allow comparison also to interested users who cannot go there.

Click on the photo and watch the TRAILER!

The App, curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli, has been conceived both as a guide to be used during a visit to the PArCo, and as a journey through time to be experienced wherever you are in the world with your smartphone or tablet, which is nowadays essential in times of pandemic. In fact, Piranesi’s genius will take users far into the heart of 18th-century Rome, along an itinerary that is familiar to many but always full of surprises and details to discover or rediscover.

The experience is completed by an extensive gallery of images of monuments portrayed in other periods and by different authors, and two in-depth video-documentaries, “L’acquaforte” and “Reprinting Piranesi”, produced by the PArCo at the Stamperia of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica and dedicated respectively to the technique of etching and to the reprinting, a rare event, of an engraving of the Colosseum valley from an original Piranesi matrix.

Click on the photo and watch the video of “Reprinting Piranesi”!

The application, which is free for users, includes translation into LIS and audio-reading of the entire text.

The itinerary

The Piranesi itinerary in the PArCo, which can be followed either on site or remotely, consists of 34 stops, corresponding to the same number of etchings, located from the southern slopes of the Palatine Hill to the Trajan Column, passing through Vigna Barberini, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, where most of the views are concentrated.

In order to help the visitor in his orientation, a series of illustrated panels of the main views has been installed inside the PArCo.

 

CREDITS

“Il PArCo di Piranesi”

An initiative of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (Director: Alfonsina Russo).
In collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (ICG).

Curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli with Davide Criscuolo.
Realised by Flaviano Pizzardi.

An initiative of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (Director: Alfonsina Russo).
In collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (ICG).

Curated by Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli with Davide Criscuolo.
Created by Flaviano Pizzardi.

Promoted by the Fundraising Office (PArCo): Alfonsina Russo (responsible), Ines Arletti, Francesca Boldrighini, Elisa Cella, Andrea Schiappelli.

Texts: Paolo Castellani and Andrea Schiappelli, with Davide Criscuolo.
Translations: Ryan Audino.
Voices: Alex Elton, Douglas Dean.
Adaptation for accessibility in Italian Sign Language: Violante Nonno, Nicola Della Maggiora, Cristiano Iacoangeli (CREI, LIS interpreters).

Istituto Centrale per la Grafica

Responsible of the Calcoteca: Giovanna Scaloni.
Responsible of the Photographic Laboratory: Giuseppe Renzitti.
Photographers: Antonio Iorio, Mauro Benedetti, Alfredo Corrao.
Responsible for the ICG Print Shop: Lucia Ghedin.
Chalcographers: Matteo Maria Borsoi and Fabio Ascenzi.

  

 

                             Withi the contibution of:

 

 

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