`Port of Terracina, and Ruins of Antient Anxur, situated on the Confines of the Roman Territories, entering the Kingdom of Naples'

John `Warwick' Smith (1749-1831)
`Port of Terracina, and Ruins of Antient Anxur, situated on the Confines of the Roman Territories, entering the Kingdom of Naples'

Signed on reverse of original washline mount: John Smyth 1797 and inscribed with the title
Watercolour over traces of pencil
39.8 by 57cm., 15 ½ by 22 ½ in.

A view of Terracina by Smith was engraved in 1796 for his`Select Views of Italy', vol. II, pl.45. The present watercolour, drawn in the following year, may be a commission arising from the publication of the engraving. `Warwick' Smith description of the engraving is as follows:

`Terracina was the Anxur of the ancients. It stands high. There is but little remarkable in it at present except the cathedral, which is erected upon the ruins of the temple of Jupiter. The antique columns of the latter support the facade of the wooden fabric. This view represents the part of Terracina which in the time of the Volscians was considerable: it is now only a harbour for a few small fishing boats. Here is a dogana, or custom-house, belonging to the Pope, for the purpose of examining whatever merchandise is exported from or imported to the Neapolitan dominions.'

A smaller view of Terracina by Warwick Smith taken from a slightly different angle is recorded in the Oppé collection