FALDA, Giovanni Battista
(b. 1643, Valduggia, d. 1678, Roma)

Piazza e Portici della Basilica Vaticana

1665-69
Etching, 272 x 392 mm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This is a bird's-eye view of the square and arcade in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The arcade is depicted in a stage of the plans that was never realized with a third part of the arcade on the far side, leaving only two narrow entrances to the square. Numbers are added near several notable buildings and monuments which are identified below the image.