Drawings, Prints, and 20th C. Photographs

1948 Moretti


Moretti’s 1948, 2 volume, publication continues to be the foundational record of the Ara Pacis Augustae. It was based on the remarkable 1937-38 excavation and reconstruction of the Ara Pacis which he directed with his associate, Guglielmo Gatti. Text and illustrations provide the basic record of the original Roman portions of the monument and of the complex process of restoration and reconstruction. The final third of the text explores the meaning of the Ara Pacis.

The numerous photographs in this publication have been superseded by higher quality reproductions, but these 29 superb, large-format prints remain the highest quality available. Most of these were drawn by Ennio Paolini; the 4 most famous, showing the 4 facades, were drawn by Leporini. Most of these prints are planar elevations (similar to vertical cross-section), unlike perspectival photographs.

Scanned from Giuseppe Moretti, L'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., 2005, 2 vols. (1st ed. La Libreria dello Stato, 1948). Courtesy of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome. Reproduced with appreciation.

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