A proposal from 1675 for dredging the Tiber: modern solutions to restore the navigability of the ancient waterway in Rome in 50 drawings
How to make the Tiber Navigable from Perugia to Rome

How to make the Tiber Navigable from Perugia to Rome
The Dutch artist Caspar van Wittel (1652/53–1736) is renowned for his Italian landscapes, called *vedute*
He collaborated with his countryman, a hyrdolic engineer named Cornelis Meyer, to survey the Tiber
Some of the 50 drawings Van Wittel created for the project became the basis of vedute in the 1680’s
How to make the Tiber Navigable from Perugia to Rome
- Modo di far navigabile il Tevere da Perugia a Roma di Cornelis Meyer
Short Description
The Tiber is one of the most famous rivers in the world because it links the city of Rome to the Mediterranean Sea and the Apennine Mountains, where the river originates. By the 17th century, silt made much of the river impassible, especially the section upriver from Rome leading to the city of Perugia. The problem is addressed in this codex, and successive popes dredged the Tiber to improve its navigability.
How to make the Tiber Navigable from Perugia to Rome
This splendid 17th century work combines the most advanced hydraulic engineering and landscape painting techniques of the time and addresses the problem of restoring navigability on the River Tiber between Rome and Perugia. The precious original manuscript from 1675 is stored today in the Library of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and Corsiniana of Rome. It was a collaboration of two Dutchmen living in Rome, the painter and draughtsman Caspar van Wittel (1652/53–1736) and the hydraulic engineer Cornelis Meyer, who travelled the banks of the Tiber between Perugia and Rome together collecting information and impressions of important sections.
Views of the Tiber
Van Wittel is renowned for his role in the development of vedute as a specialty of Italian art. Italian for “view”, vedute are detailed cityscapes and vistas, typically large in scale, and can be either paintings or prints. The first veduta painted by van Wittel were created shortly after his arrival in Rome when he collaborated with Meyer on the Tiber project. The artist completed 50 drawings for the project altogether, many of these artfully illustrated Meyer’s designs for restoring the Tiber’s navigability, including various mechanical devices. Some of these van Wittel later used for some vedute he painted in the early 1680’s. The drawings of the young van Wittel demonstrate the mastery of the blossoming artist and Meyer’s imaginative engineering.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Modo di far navigabile il Tevere da Perugia a Roma di Cornelis Meyer
- Style
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „How to make the Tiber Navigable from Perugia to Rome“
Modo di far navigabile il Tevere da Perugia a Roma di Cornelis Meyer
- Publisher
- Nova Charta – Venice
- More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
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