The First Plan of Rome [with] A Second Plan of Rome

A pair of stylized city plans chronicling the growth of early Rome.

Though almost entirely conjectural, this pair of city plans reflects the perennial fascination with the history of the glorious Roman Empire. The establishment of the Eternal City is steeped in myth, but the story revolves around a pair of twins that were saved from exposure by a wolf. Upon growing up, Romulus and Remus decided to found a town on the site of their good fortune, but the former murdered the latter in a quarrel and become the sole ruler of the city of Rome.

The first map shows the city ‘in the beginning of Romulus’s reign’ and presents a handful of structures concentrated around the fortified Palatine Hill. By the time Romulus made peace with the Sabine King, Tatius, Rome has grown to encompass the nearby Capitoline Hill, which can be seen in the second sheet.