J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

At the Umbrian town of Terni Turner made a short detour from the direct road to Rome in order to visit the famous waterfall, approximately three miles to the east. An entirely man-made phenomenon, the Falls of Terni were created by the ancient Romans who diverted the River Velino to descend into the Nera valley beneath in three successive stages. The whiteness of the waters led to the popular appellation of the ‘Cascata’ or ‘Caduta delle Marmore’ (Falls of Marble). During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the site represented one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy outside of Rome and the Papal Government exercised a monopoly on guides and vehicle hire so that unless travellers were prepared to walk the distance from Terni, they were obliged to pay to access the site.1 In 1781, Pope Pius VI ordered the construction of two viewing huts to accommodate the increasing numbers of visitors. One of these shelters, the Belvedere Inferiore, allowed a vista of the entire spectacle from the bottom of the falls, whilst the other, the Belvedere Superiore, was situated on a projecting spur of rock, almost level with the brink of the summit.

This sketch depicts the Cascata delle Marmore, with its three distinct levels from below, at the Belvedere Inferiore. For a similar view, and a full discussion see folio 55 verso (D14760).