Pompilio Totti

Propelled by the urban agendas of ambitious popes like Urban VIII Barberini (1623–1644), authors such as Pompilio Totti published guidebooks praising the pope’s urban and artistic accomplishments, often in juxtaposition with ancient sites. Dedicated to Cardinal Antonio Barberini, this guidebook is considered the most important book of Totti’s career as a publisher, engraver, antiquarian, and writer of topography of ancient and modern Rome. Divided into six giornate (days) and organized around various rioni (districts), many of the descriptions repeat entire sections from Panciroli's Tesori Nascosti. For example, the entry dedicated to the church of Santa Martina repeats verbatim Panciroli’s text from 1625, mentioning the Compagnia dei Pittori (founded 1478) and the demolition of the Church of San Luca near Santa Maria Maggiore by Pope Sixtus V during the urban renovation of Rome in 1588. Despite the interchangeability of texts revealed to be a common practice in the guidebooks industry, Totti might better be considered as a compiler, not an author “plagiarizing” other guidebooks.

Complete digitized book: IIIF Digital View (National Gallery of Art Library, Special Collections)