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

This sketch depicts the view looking west towards Mergellina and the Posillipo Hill from Villa Reale (present-day Villa Comunale park), a promenade on the Chiaia waterfront in Naples, see folio 68 (D15863; Turner Bequest CLXXXV 67). In the middle distance to the right can be seen a building with a dome, the Church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta, and the vast cavernous opening of the Grotto of Posillipo beyond. Visible on the slopes of the hill to the left, meanwhile is the Church of Sant’Antonio which lies near the so-called Tomb of Virgil. Turner made the ascent of the hill to visit the tomb and to sketch the panoramic vista from the top, see folios 69–71 verso (D15904–D15868; Turner Bequest CLXXXV 90–69a).