A first state printing of Piranesi's view of the Temple of Saturn and part of the Arch of Septimius Severus from the Vedute di Roma. The Temple, often erroneously known as the Temple of Concord, is shown partially obscured by the many medieval houses and structures that grew up along the edge of the Capitoline and the Tarpeian Rock in the post-classical period. A herd of horned goats graze a small patch of wasteland between the remaining columns of the Temple and the corner of the triumphal arch at the extreme right of the scene, and numerous figures populate the street, which leads to the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in the distance. The Temple of Saturn was one of the oldest of Rome's temples, initially laid out under the reign of Tarquin Superbus, Rome's final king, and inaugurated in the early years of the fledgling Republic. The temple was built in honour of Saturn, god of commerce, agriculture, and time, and, according to Roman myth, ruler over a Golden Age of peace and prosperity, as well as one of the founders of the City alongside Janus. The Temple served as the Treasury and Archive for most of the Republican period. The remaining columns are part of a fourth century rebuilding, which took place after a fire destroyed the earlier Republican temple. 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 109. i/iii, Wilton-Ely 242, F829, C764.