Having studied his trade in Berlin and Paris, the classicist landscapist Hackert arrived in Rome in 1768 and there attained international fame with views of natural scenery and townscapes. Highly appreciated by Goethe, the German Roman achieved a topographically precise veduta of Rome in this depiction, while at the same time mirroring the idealist-romantic image of Italy cherished by every traveller. The graduation of the space across the Tiber and beyond, all the way to St. Peter’s on the horizon, is framed and formally anchored by stage-set-like motifs in the foreground such as the wall of the Milvian Bridge and the trees.