Arco Trionfale innalzato d'ordine di sua Maestà... per il passaggio della Santità... Papa Benedetto XIV...

ARCO TRIONFALE INALZATO D'ORDINE DI SUA MAESTA' IL RE DELLE DUE SICILIE, GERUSALEMME, &c. PER IL PASSAGGIO DELLA SANTITA' DI NOSTRO SIGNORE PAPA BENEDETTO XIV AL POSSESSO DELLA BASILICA DI SAN GIOVANNI LATERANO IL DI' XXX APRILE MDCCXLI. Disegno ed Invenzione del Cav. Ferdinando Fuga, Architetto in Roma della Maestà sua. Stampato Nella Calcografia della Rev. Camera Apostolica, In Roma, 1741.

Etching, 1741, depicting the processional procession along the route taken by Pope Benedict XIV, born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini (Bologna, 1675 - Rome, 1758). The signature of Giuseppe Vasi is engraved at the bottom.

The triumphal arch was designed by Florentine architect Ferdinando Fuga (1699-1782), who worked between Rome and Naples, specializing in the design and construction of ephemeral displays for celebrations and events.

The arch typology adopted was the traditional one of the Arch of Constantine, fused with that of the Arch of Titus, revisited with bold solutions influenced by the architectural experimentation of the time. The archway, framed between pairs of twin columns on high bases, with statues and decorative elements in the intercolumniations, featured the first Corinthian or Composite order, surmounted by an attic with commemorative inscriptions and statues. The iconography of the sculptures primarily concerned the Cardinal and Theological Virtues and other allegorical figures such as Clemency, Peace, and Justice, and in the eighteenth century, it was sometimes personalized with the biographical events of the pope. (cf. E. Marconcini in “Il Museo racconta la città”, p. 103).

The Possession ceremony refers to the solemn procession of the newly elected pontiff to the Basilica of St. John Lateran—"Mother and Head of All the Churches of the City and the World." It was marked by four phases: the exit (exitus) of the pontiff from the Apostolic Palace or, starting in 1724 (by order of Benedict XIII), from the Quirinal; the symbolic ascent (adscensus) to the Capitoline Hill where the Pope was paid homage by the Senate of Rome; the descent (descensio) into the Roman Forum, which continued along the Via Sacra and the Arches of Titus and Constantine; and finally the arrival (adventus) and entrance (introitus) into the Lateran Basilica. An impressive procession consisting of the entire papal court, bishops, cardinals, representatives of the city's institutions, families of the secular and ecclesiastical nobility, as well as guards and standard-bearers, followed the pontiff, some on foot and some on horseback, hence the term "cavalcata" to refer to the papal procession.

The Renaissance pontiffs were responsible for transforming the ceremony into a "triumphus," a clear reference to the triumphs of Imperial Rome. This is why the procession passed in front of the buildings of ancient Rome, particularly the triumphal arches, which had great symbolic value: they immediately recall the continuity between Imperial Rome and the Rome of the Popes, between ancient triumphs and modern triumphs, and therefore the legitimacy of the spiritual and political power of the pontiffs.

Not only did the cavalcade pass under existing arches, but temporary or ephemeral ones were also built in wood, stucco, and papier-mâché. These were concentrated in the Triumphal Arch on the Capitoline Hill, starting in the last decade of the 16th century, and in the Roman Forum, towards the mid-17th century, creating an ideal connection between ancient and modern triumphs.

A magnificent example, printed on contemporary laid paper, with a "double circle and lily" watermark, with margins, in excellent condition. Rare.