Mola de’ Piscoli

Black pencil drawing, mm 225x305.

Belongs to a collection of 127 works unearthed from a French antiquarian who, in turn, had acquired them from the heirs of publisher Henri-Désiré Charpentier (La Rochelle 1805 - Vertou 1882); they are all done in black pencil, some have white lead highlighting; they never bear the date and signature of the author, but only a brief caption relating to the subjects depicted. The drawings denote a skilled and expert hand - especially in the delineation of buildings, ruins and architecture - that restores the monuments of Rome from interesting and unusual perspective points. The reference of most of the drawings to some of the tinted lithographs by Felix and Philippe Benoist, published in the three-volume work Rome dans sa grandeur, immediately became clear. The fact that this is a large group of original drawings related to the famous work edited by Henri-Désiré Charpentier is clearly supported by the prestigious provenance; it is a part of Charpentier's heir fund, among which the material of the famous chalcographic workshop had been divided.

Rome dans sa grandeur. Vues, monument ancient et modernes was printed in Paris in 3 volumes, in 1870. The publication, illustrated by 100 lithographs, was preceded by a campaign of preparatory drawings, dating from 1864 until 1869, executed mainly by Félix Benoist and partly by Philippe Benoist. On the eve of the Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano I, on August 11, 1869, Pius IX decreed the creation of a Roman Exhibition of the works of every art executed for Catholic worship, which was inaugurated, on February 17, 1870, in the cloister of the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. On that occasion, the three folio volumes Rome dans sa grandeur were presented. The lavishly bound volumes, with the coat of arms of Pius IX stamped in the center in gold, are divided into three sections. The first volume deals with ancient Rome, the second, with Christian Rome, and the third, with the monuments and achievements of modern Rome. A valuable view of papal Rome on the eve of Rome's profound transformation into the capital of united Italy. A document that highlights the remarkable imprint left by Pius IX on the Eternal City. The work represents the French artist's masterpiece, so much so that it places Benoist among the ranks of the greatest artists of interiors and views of his time.

The sheets used for the preliminary studies vary in size (from 170 mm x 240 to 490 x 300 mm), weight and even color gradation (from beige to green).  Many of the drawings undeniably represent different preparatory stages - more or less complete - of some of the dyed lithographs illustrating the magnificent work, others of the silographic vignettes included in the text, while other sketches do not find translation in print. Belonging to this second group are both sketches relating to monuments and views of Rome and its surroundings: ancient Ostia, Grottaferrata, Olevano Romano, Anzio, Nettuno, Velletri and Vicovaro. Far beyond from Rome are drawings relating to Naples and Loreto. The suite was to form part of the entire fund, later dispersed, of preparatory studies from which the hundred intended for lithographic printing were selected.

The drawing, which was not translated into a lithographic plate in Rome dans sa Grandeur, shows the remains of a tower and a water mill that we believe can be identified with the fortified mill of Mola de' Piscoli, located between the localities of Colle Rampo and Polledrara, about 6 km from Paliano,Originally this complex consisted only of a 13th-century watchtower, part of a semaphore system of military garrison, controlling the Prenestina and Latina roads; later the other defense works and various outbuildings were added. The tower was isolated by a moat, supplied with water by an artificial canal connecting to the Sacco River, and by a walled enclosure delimiting a courtyard, inside which adhered bodies of buildings for the use of servants and for the shelter of grain and oil; externally the mill buildings. The millstones of the mills were driven by water from the canal-ditch, which was fed back into the river. In the Middle Ages, the Mola dei Piscoli was the obligatory passage to enter Palian territory from the south, since that point on the Sacco River indicated its boundary. Belonging to the Colonna family and in 1537 to a certain Giovanni Piscoli, from whom it took its name, still in 1801, the mills and rooms used as a barn, stable and storehouse are listed in the lists of the Colonna family of Paliano's revenues.

Paliano is one of the destinations reported by P. Jeanson in the chapter Environs de Rome, in the volume Rome Moderne:

“Nous rejoindrons la route principale et nous arriverons à Paliano. On ne pourrait imaginer une pareille situation sans une forteresse. Il semble que ce mamelon isolé, aux flancs abruptes, piacé là entre deux vallées, sur le chemin de la montagne à la plaine, ait été créé exprès pour asseoir un de ces chateaux forts, tels qu'aimait à en élever le moyen-age; aussi cette destinée ne lui a pas manqué. Paliano est un nom souvent répété dans l'histoire de la famille Colonna, qui en avait.fait sa principale forteresse.. La disparition du régime féodal a créé à Paliano de nouvelles destinécs. Son chàteau est devenu un lieu de détention pour les militaires condamnés à des peines graves” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Moderne, c. V, p. 13).