Piranesi – Visionary of Shadow and Stone

History 52' 2025 HD

The name Piranesi evokes a world of mystery and imagination. The Italian architect, engraver, and archaeologist gifted us with dreamlike visions – labyrinthine spaces where stairways lead to nowhere and shadows stretch into the unknown. At the same time, he celebrated the monumental beauty of ancient Rome in his iconic vedute – vivid panoramas of the “Eternal City” that spread far and wide across Europe.

Yet Piranesi’s works – whether darkly brooding or poetically sublime – are far more than mere antiquarian souvenirs. His images speak of the smallness of man, a solitary figure dwarfed and awestruck by the idealized grandeur of a vanished age. In this sense, Piranesi was not only an archaeologist of ruins, but also of the soul. His imaginative labyrinths continue to inspire artists, thinkers, and visionaries to this day.

But who was Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the man behind these extraordinary creations? Very little is known about his life and inner world. This documentary seeks to trace his footsteps, to delve into the enigma he left behind and to bring us closer to understanding the mind of a genius who built entire worlds on paper.