A striking view of the ruins of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus in the Roman Forum, from the Vedute di Roma. The construction of the temple was begun shortly after the death of Vespasian by his son and successor Titus in AD 79, as a celebration of the Flavian dynasty. Titus' short reign meant that the majority of the temple was constructed by his younger brother Domitian, who dedicated it to both his father and brother. The temple was repaired at the beginning of the third century by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. By Piranesi's day, over a millennium of sporadic reuse and despoliation had reduced the building to just three columns, which themselves were buried for much of their height in successive generations of silt from the flooding of the Tiber. The result is a very picturesque scene, with tourists and antiquarians rubbing shoulders with beggars and goatherds in the shadow of the colossal Corinthian column capitals. Piranesi's title replicates the standard misattribution of the temple as the Augustan era Temple of Jupiter Tonans, following misidentification of the structure by the architect and antiquarian Pirro Ligorio in the mid-sixteenth century. It was not until the early nineteenth century that the ruins were correctly identified as the Temple of Vespasian and Titus. The inscription below the title reads: "Il Tempio di Giove Tonante alle radici del Monte Capitolino fu da Ottaviano Augusto fabbricato per voto, e poscia dopo aver sofferto incendio con altre Fabbriche del vicino Campid.o fu restituito dall'Imp.re Adriano. Per cio, che si scopre in questo insigne Avanzo dell'Ambulacro esterno, tanto per la esquisita delicatezza e disposizione degl'intagli, quanto per la sodezza, e maesta della Fabbrica, egli puo meritam.te annove-rarsi tra i pui cospicui ornati edifici, che sono stati innalzati in quel secolo felice. 1. Colonne di marmo greco, di gran mole, e di un solo pezzo, in gran parte sepolte nel terreno. 2. Fianco del moderno Campidoglio, piantato sopra l'antico Tabulario, segnato 3." The Vedute di Roma was Piranesi's most popular and best known series, celebrating the churches, monuments, ruins, bridges, fountains, and public spaces of the city of Rome. The immense popularity of the series meant that they were in constant demand, and Piranesi continued to reissue and add to the series from the 1740s until his death in 1778. The Vedute were particularly popular with British grand tourists, and had a profound effect on the British neoclassical movement. Demand was such that the series was reprinted numerous times after Piranesi's death, including two Paris editions published by his sons, Francesco and Pietro. Hind 44. ii/vi, Wilton-Ely 182, F819, C793.