Interior of Santa Maria della Pace, Rome (2)

'Veduta di dentro di S Maria della Pace Restaurata et Adornata da NS Papa Alessandrovi'. In 1656-1667 Pope Alexander VII commissioned Pietro da Cortona to restore the Santa Maria della Pace in Rome. Cortona added the famous Baroque facade projecting from its concave wings: this, devised to simulate a theatrical set, has two orders and is entered by a semi-circular pronaos with paired Doric columns. A pair of etchings from Falda's 'Nuovo Teatro delle Fabriche, et Edificii, In Prospettiva di Roma moderna'. Printed and published by Giacomo de Rossi (1626-1691), the head of the most dominant Roman publishing house. Falda specialized in drawings and etchings of architectural views; he was reknown for his strong contrasts of light and shade, his architectural accuracy and the care he took delineating incidental figures.