One of five views of Saint Peter's Basilica by Piranesi in this series, this view puts the entire piazza on display as it recedes at a slight angle, so that the darkly shaded obelisk might not obscure the basilica's entrance. This oblique perspective is in keeping with contemporary trends in scenography.

The foreground is filled with activity. Piranesi included an ornamented horse-drawn coach, which serves to make more emphatic the vertical line created by the dome and obelisk in a horizontal composition.

adapted from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)