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

This page contains four separate views executed with the sketchbook turned vertically. It is one of five consecutive works depicting the city of Viterbo: see also folios 40 recto–41 recto and 42 recto (D21834–D21836, D21838).

As identified by Cecilia Powell, the upper two views look towards the Piazza della Rocca in the northern part of Viterbo.1 Turner’s vantage point was from outside the city walls, looking east. To the left of both views is the Porta Fiorentina, or ‘Florentine’ gateway, built in 1768 under Pope Clement XIII.2 The gateway is surmounted with his coat of arms, as outlined here by Turner. The large building with a tower to the right was constructed in 1354 by Cardinal de Albornoz.3 Initially conceived as a fortress, it was later transformed into a Renaissance palace under Pope Julius II, with a loggia was added subsequently under Pope Paul III. Since 1986, the site has housed the city’s archaeological museum dedicated to Etruscan artefacts, the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Rocca Albornoz.4 See folio 40 verso (D21835) for a comparable view of the building and Porta Fiorentina from inside the Piazza della Rocca.

According to Powell, Turner’s vantage point for the third view was from the gardens of the Palazzo Comunale, with Etruscan tombs and a fountain roughly outlined in the foreground, and the belltower of the cathedral in the distance to the right.5

At the bottom of the page, inverted relative to the views above, is a skyline, presumably also depicting Viterbo.