Piante del Molo Adriano and Forma del Molo ne la Parte di Fvori

Antonio Labacco, Libro d'Antonio Labacco appartenente a l'architettvra nel qval si figvrano alcvne notabili antiqvita di Roma (Rome, 1552), pp. 3-4

Now known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Mausoleum of Hadrian once housed the ashes of the Roman emperor Hadrian. In the Piante del Molo Adriano, Labacco presents a ground plan of the building and provides us with its dimensions. This is, in fact, an accurate rendition of the mausoleum’s structure and measurements.

In the sixteenth century, however, antiquarian representations of ancient ruins often incorporated elements of fantasy. The Forma del Molo ne la Parte di Fvori, on the following page, offers an instructive contrast, as it presents an imaginative reconstruction of the mausoleum’s exterior. Labacco’s fanciful recreation of this monument’s appearance was based not on archaeological evidence, but rather on a literary source, Procopius’ Wars of Justinian (ca. 550 C.E.). In this work, Procopius describes Hadrian’s mausoleum as being made entirely of Parian marble, and adorned with numerous statues of men and horses. As we will see, this tension between accuracy and imagination informs much of Labacco’s work.