Building [Aerarii Publici Rome] from the series 'Ruinarum variarum fabricarum delineationes pictoribus caeterisque id genus artificibus multum utiles'

Perspectival depiction of the side view of a building referred to as the ‘Aerarii Publici Rome’, the public treasury of Rome. The main body of the building is circular in shape interrupted at regular intervals by semi-circular absidioles and an avant-corps on the front side (here seen on the left). The avant-corpse consists of a monumental staircase that leads up to the fourth floor of the building. A separate staircase leads to the top of the building, which is crowned by a dome with a balustrade. While the building is meant to represent the public treasury of Rome, thought to have been located on the Capitoline Hill near the Temple of Saturnus, very few architectural elements remain to indicate what the building may have looked like, and this rendition was likely created as an ekphrasis.

This print and several others in this series published by Gerard de Jode were copied after a group of Italian architectural prints, previously attriputed to the Master G. A. with the Caltrop, and first published in Rome between 1530 and 1550. The prints depict buildings from Roman Antiquity, ranging from triumphal arches to bath houses, temples and palaces in Italy, France and Spain. Some of the buildings have been artificially reconstructed based on Medieval descriptions, while others are depicted in their ruinous states.