A Voyage from Florence to Rome in April 1616: Giulio Parigi’s Sketchbook and Archival Documents

The Getty Research Institute holds thirty-one loose sheets belonging to an original sketchbook attributed to Giulio Parigi, architect, engineer, and set designer active in the Medici court of Ferdinando I and Cosimo II. The sketchbook’s twenty-nine views of cities, landscapes, and towns are analyzed on the basis of inscriptions present on some of the dated sheets, which attest to the journey made by Parigi from Florence to Rome in April 1616. The period spent by the artist in Rome is reflected in recently discovered archival documents that also allow for a reconstruction of the official ceremony for the election of Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici. Stylistic analysis of the sketchbook now makes it possible to date a number of sheets attributed to Giulio Parigi kept at the Gallerie degli Uffizi, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, and to gain a clear understanding of the complex personality and interests of the Florentine architect in the depiction of landscape.