Joseph Mallord William Turner

At Terni, Turner made a short detour from his route in order to visit the nearby Falls of Terni, or Cascata delle Marmore, an impressive waterfall created by the descent of the River Velino into the valley below. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the falls represented one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy outside of Rome. ¹ In 1781, Pope Pius VI built a small stone hut on a projecting spur of rock spur almost level with the brink of the summit to facilitate the viewing experience for the increasing numbers of visitors. This viewpoint was known as the Belvedere Superiore. This sketch, inverted on the page, depicts the prospect looking north-east from the hut away from the Cascata, down into the Valley of the Nar. The town visible on the slopes of the hills to the left is Ferentillo. Other views can be found on folios 45 verso–46 (D14741–2), 50 verso–51 (D14751–2) and 51 verso (D14753). For a full discussion see folio 55 verso (D14760).

The viewpoint, and therefore also the composition of this sketch is identical to that of a drawing by James Hakewill, Valley of the Nar from the Cascade of Terni circa 1817 (British School in Rome Library).2 Hakewill’s drawing provided the basis for a watercolour by Turner, The Valley of the Nar 1818 (private collection), one of two paintings which were not engraved for use in Hakewill’s Picturesque Tour of Italy.3 Turner also produced a related watercolour of the waterfall, Cascade at Terni (Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery).4