GiovanBattista Piranesi (Mogliano Veneto 1720 - Rome 1778) "Views of Rome drawn and engraved .." (title of the series) Original etching signed in the plate on the bottom right "Piranesi inv. Scol. "From the series" Views of Rome designed and engraved by Giambattista Piranesi Venetian Architect ", engraved in 1748 as shown in the Catalog printed in Rome in 1792. Beautiful copy in the rare first state of five before the address of the Roman publishers Bouchard and Gravier, printed on a portion of laid paper bearing the filigree "Lily in a single circle with letter F" similar to Robison 5, attributable to Roman paper production between 1748 and 1760, with large margins beyond the imprint of the plate, the usual fold vertical central, two small holes restored, one very peripheral on the right edge and another on the high one above the letter V, burnishing, traces of dirt, foxing and other minimal defects on the edges, on the reverse traces of old reinforcements at the central fold recently removed but overall in a good state of conservation. With the realization of this Piranesi slab begins the great undertaking of the Views of Rome that will engage him throughout his life. Probably not by chance draws and engraves the title of what will become his most famous work on a large block of stone, as if to signify the laying of a "milestone" in his career as an artist and in his human journey, in to which his training, represented by the term "Architect" and his never forgotten origin, represented by the term "Venetian", assume great value. Bibliography: Ficacci "Giovanni Battista Piranesi the Complet Etchings" Cologne 2000 page 684 n ° 872. Hind "GiovanBattista Piranesi, A critical study" London 1922 No. 1 and Table I. Robison "Piranesi Early architectural Fantasies" Washington 1986 fil.5. Measurements in mm: 410 x 555