Italy - Rome / Tiber; Félix Benoist (Saumur, 1818 – Nantes, 1896)// - Vue du Tibre et du Pont Rompu (prise du Pont de St. Barthélemy)" / "Veduta del Tevere e Ponte Rotto - 1861-1880

The view shows a suggestive glimpse of Rome, vanished before the great demolitions at the end of the 19th century and the construction of the embankments along the Tiber. The observer is on Ponte San Bartolomeo (the present-day Ponte Cestio that connects the Isola Tiberina to Trastevere) and looks southeast:

You can notice the ancient houses overlooking directly the water, with laundry hanging and balconies in bloom, structures demolished in the following decade to make way for the modern lungoteveri (riverfront embankments). In the center: The Tiber River is crossed by fishing boats and ferries crowded with figures in traditional costumes of the era. In the background stand the historic arches of Ponte Rotto (the ancient Ponte Emilio) and the profiles of the opposite bank (Aventine and Ripa Grande).

Conservation status The specimen presents, overall, in good general condition, keeping intact the freshness of the contemporaneous watercolor coloring and the sharpness of the lithographic line. However, as typical of paper supports from the second half of the 19th century, the sheet shows the following signs of aging: Marginal foxing: There is a widespread presence of oxidation spots (foxing) of brown-reddish color concentrated mainly along the four wide outer white margins (upper side and corners).