This engraving depicts the interior of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. It was liberated from a copy of Vedute Di Roma (Views of Rome) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, first published in 1768. The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major has dominated over the city of Rome for 16 centuries as the Marian shring par excellence and the cradle of artistic civilization. Located at the summit of the Esquiline Hill, it is one of Rome’s four Papal Basilicas. Piranesi etched this view and many others in Rome hoping to sell them to visiting tourists in his day.