The So-called Villa of Maecenas, Tivoli (Avanzi della Villa de Mecenate a Tivoli)

Maecenas, the wealthy patron of Horace, Virgil, and other literary figures, had a palatial villa constructed at Tivoli where he could entertain guests during the hot Roman summers. The villa was bequeathed to Octavian (Emperor Augustus) at the death of Maecenas, who had long served as the emperor’s close advisor.

Piranesi’s etching brings the viewer up close to the edifice and allows him or her to sense the texture of each stone, column, and ragged tree.