Il Prospetto principale del Piazza di S. Pietro in Vaticano e Palazzo Pontificio. All' Altezza Reale Eminentissima di Errigo Benedetto Maria Vescovo di Frascati Cardinal Duca d'Yorck Vice-Cancelliere della S. Rom.na Chiesa, Sotto Decano del Sagro Collegio ed Arciprete della Sagrosanta Basilica Vaticana &c. &c. Il Prospetto principale del Tempio e Piazza di S. Pietro in Vaticano, e Palazzo Pontificio, Presenta, e Dedica L'Umilissimo Devotissimo Obbligatissimo Servo Giuseppe Vasi Conte Palatino e Cavaliere dell'Aula Lateranense, dal medesimo disegnato ed inciso l'anno 1774.

[Rome?], 1774.. Original etching with engraving (70 x 97 cm) printed on two conjoined sheets of laid paper (overall sheet size 77 x 103 cm). Very good condition. A spectacular engraved view of St. Peter's Basilica designed and engraved by Giuseppe Vasi in celebration of the Jubilee of 1775 called by Pope Clement XIV the previous year, depicting the Vatican Basilica, Pontifical Palace, and Bernini's Piazza San Pietro. It is dedicated in the title to Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, who at the time of the print's creation was recognised by the Roman Church as the rightful second in line to the British throne under the Jacobite claim. The view shows Bernini's collonade to full effect, even allowing the edges of it to be cut off by the border of the plate, increasing the sense of the vastness of the space. The obelisk and fountains dominate the piazza, and coaches and crowds fill the empty spaces between. Behind the Basilica, the hills of Lazio can be seen. In the centre of the inscription space, the Arms of Henry Stuart are blazoned, supported by a recumbent lion and unicorn and topped with a ducal crown and cardinal's hat. Thirteen numbered points on the scene correspond to labels along the bottom border of the plate. Giuseppe Vasi (1710 - 1782) was an Italian engraver and architect, best known for his vedute of Rome which he published from 1747 to 1761. He also created 15 tablet engravings of opera scenes designed by Vincenzo Re; some of which are part of the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.