Porto di Ripetta
by PIRANESI, Giovanni Battista, Etching, 542 x 789 mm
The Porto di Ripetta was an exedra into the river bank in Rome, the stepped ramps of which pick up and follow the natural incline. Alessandro Specchi, a student of Carlo Fontana who had become well-known as an engraver, created this design. This project in front of the church of San Girolamo degli Schiavoni led Specchi and Fontana towards an increasing use of dynamic perspectives. The port was destroyed in 1874 with the development of flood defences and the river bank road of Lungotevere, and replaced by Rome’s Ponte Cavour, and his fountain at the top of the port was moved to a nearby site.
The view of the port was recorded in etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.