Piranesi Museum: release of Pierluigi Panza's book taking stock of Piranesi collector

Coming out in bookstores is "Museo Piranesi," a book written by journalist, writer, art historian and Milan Polytechnic professor Pierluigi Panza. The book, on sale for 45 euros and published by Skira, focuses on Giovan Battista Piranesi (Mogliano Veneto, 1720 - Rome, 1778), considered the greatest engraver of all time, and was written after twenty years of research on the artist carried out by its author, who has been dealing with Piranesi since his PhD.

The aim of the book is to investigate the figure of Piranesi beyond his activity as a great artist: Piranesi, in fact, was also a restorer and a very active collector of sculptures and vases found in the context of excavations (which he himself sometimes took care of) carried out in Rome: finds that Piranesi then kept in his house-museum in Palazzo Tomati in Rome. Panza’s research led to the identification of the places where these works can be found today (in as many as forty-three locations in nine different countries): the 580-page book takes stock of these new discoveries, which were possible thanks to a careful study of period sources (documents, manuscripts, books, letters).

Finally, Panza’s research won the 2017 Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s top honor in the field of cultural heritage. The jury in particular appreciated “the dedication of more than 20 years of this tireless researcher,” who “has made an excellent contribution to the understanding of antiquity in 18th century Europe and complements our understanding of Piranesi’s role.”

Piranesi Museum: release of Pierluigi Panza's book taking stock of Piranesi collector

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