Annotated sketchbooks — making the virtual basilica

Two sketchbooks by the architect Virginio Vespignani (1802-1882) contain images of the excavations conducted around the tomb of St. Paul during the basilica’s nineteenth-century reconstruction. The drawings are now part of the collection of Rodolfo Lanciani owned by the INASA (Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte) and held in the Sala Lanciani at the BIASA (Biblioteca di archeologia e storia dell'arte). The drawings in Manuscript 2 (MS 2) and Manuscript 67 (MS 67) both date to 1838.

Manuscript 2

Manuscript 67

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