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

Turner’s route to Naples took him through Terracina, a town approximately sixty miles south of Rome, where the Via Appia meets the Tyrrhenian coast. He seems to have found time aside from his journey to ascend the heights of Monte Sant’Angelo above the town and to enjoy the panoramic prospect looking west across the bay. The main subject of this sketch is the Rocca Traversa (also known as the Castle of Frangipane), a medieval fortress which was partially destroyed by Allied bombing during the Second World War. On the lower slopes to the left is the campanile of the Duomo (Cathedral) of Santi Pietro e Cesareo, whilst in the distance beyond is the Monte Leano, and on the left, the promontory of Monte Circeo. Turner’s viewpoint appears to be a point on the road towards the summit of Monte Sant’Angelo, below the Tempio di Giove Anxur (Temple of Jupiter Anxur). A small part of the composition spills over onto the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 22 verso (D15598; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 21a). Related views can be found on folios 20–21 verso (D15593–D15596; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 20, 20a, 20b, 20c).