090a.

Veduta della Renella

In this volume Vasi depicts two sandy river banks which once faced each other across the Tiber. This view shows the Renella on the Trastevere side which mirrored a companion view, the Spiaggia della Regola, Plate 90, on the opposing bank. "Renella" derives from the word arena (sand). The name is repeated in a Vicolo della Renella (NN 1173) which approached this site from the left, just off the print. Trastevere was occupied mostly by modest houses, like the ones we see in this view. Only the churches rise above the houses: on the left, the bell-tower of the church of S. Maria in Trastevere (6) Plate 60, and the facade of S. Maria della Scala (5) on the right. The Janiculum hill in the distance is topped by the church of S. Pietro in Montorio (1) with the tip of the dome of Bramante's Tempietto (NN 1187) protruding from its courtyard; the great Acqua Paola fountain (2) built by Paul V Borghese (1605-1621); the Giardino Farnese (3) Plate 198A; and to its right, the tower at the top of the gardens of Palazzo Corsini from which Vasi drew his great Panorama. Part way up the hill (between the Acqua Paola and the Giardino Farnese) is the entrance to the garden known as Bosco Parrasio (4) which was the meeting place for the Arcadian Academy.