The Tor San Giovanni or Torre Salaria near Rome
The Tor San Giovanni or Torre Salaria near Rome
Edward Lear (1812-1888)
The Tor San Giovanni or Torre Salaria near Rome
Signed lower right and inscribed lower left: Tor S. Giovanni/Feby. 1844
Pen and brown ink and watercolour heightened with touches of white on grey laid paper
7.9 by 11.9 cm., 3 by 4 ½ in.
Provenance:
John Scandrett Harford (1787-1866);
By descent until 2015
This is view of the Tor san Giovanni, also known as the Torre Salaria, which is located north of the old city of Rome on the Via Salaria, where the Aniene joins the River Tiber. This medieval watch-tower was built on top of an ancient Roman tomb carved out of tufa known as Sepolcro di Mario, after Marius, the leader of a faction in the First Roman Civil War. Once a landmark on the empty Roman landscape, the tower, which still stands, has been enveloped by the spread of modern Rome.