This page contains a distant view of Tivoli seen from the road skirting the end of the valley to the north-east. Visible in the centre of the prospect is a medieval watch-tower positioned above the falls of the
cascatelli (or
cascatelle), the lesser cascades, whilst to the left is the so-called Temple of Vesta, a circular ruin dating from the first century BC, which stands on the edge of the gorge at the northern edge of the town, near the former falling point of the ‘Great Cascade’ of the River Aniene. In the far distance to the west is the flat plain of the Roman Campagna. Similar vistas can be seen on folios 2, 18, 22, 33, 34, 78, 80 (
D15468,
D15484,
D15488,
D15500,
D15501,
D15550,
D15552), as well as the
Tivoli and Rome sketchbook (Tate
D15000–D15005 and
D15092; Turner Bequest 40–42 verso and 86a), and in a watercolour study in the
Naples: Rome C. Studies sketchbook (Tate
D16116; Turner Bequest CLXXXVII 28). Like many drawings within this sketchbook, the composition has been executed over a washed grey background. Turner has created highlights within the work by rubbing or lifting out the wash to reveal the white paper beneath, principally to delineate the silvery falls of the cascades and to add some detail to the sky.