Exceptionally fine old color example of one of Braun & Hogenberg's views of Rome, from an early edition of Braun & Hogenberg's Civitates Orbis Terrarum.

Striking bird's-eye plan of Rome showing the city as it was circa 1550. Included are various surviving features of ancient Rome: the surrounding walls, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine, and the Forum Romanum. In the left corner in the foreground can be seen the Papal Palace and the Obelisk from the circus of Caligula and Nero. With two figures in the foreground, and two extensive tables of explanations.

Braun included the following commentary about the city:

The magnificent ancient ruins of the splendid buildings give a modest indication of the splendor the city formerly possessed. The Tiber flows into this city from the north and out again towards the south. But what more should I write about so famous a city, in which the successor to St Peter the Apostle and the supreme bishop of the Catholic Church has his seat, where the bones and relics of so many apostles and martyrs are to be seen?