Rome Eternal.

Complete with all 100 plates of views of the main monuments and historical sites of Rome. However, the index page is missing.

Pieter SCHENK (1660-1718) was born in Germany but settled in Amsterdam where he became one of the students of Gérard VALCK, a renowned engraver. In 1687, he married G. Valck's sister. Thus united, the two families engaged for a long period in diverse activities: sales of engravings, editions of books, maps, topographical and architectural drawings...They produced original maps but also presented atlases consisting of the printing of maps originally drawn by others but revised by them. In 1700, he was appointed Court engraver by Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and Bavaria.

WithRoma Aeterna, Pieter Schenk presents a compilation of engravings of ancient and modern Rome, and we can see different uses of Vedute. This publication can be compared to a modern picture book that was certainly used more as a memory aid to remember the city rather than to prepare for a trip.

Compilations of Vedute like this one were constantly sold in Rome (although this specific copy was published in Amsterdam) to tourists who wanted a collection of images of the city. Some engravings depicting reconstructed monuments show the interest of professionals and amateurs in reconstructing monuments of the past. The images of ruins are the symbol of the city's long past history and at the same time, looking ahead, as a symbol for eternity, of what we rightly call The Eternal City.