1560 Der Statt Rom In Aller Weldt Bekant Contrafhetung....

This woodcut from Münster’s famous Cosmographia provides a splendid bird’s eye view of the Eternal City and its seven hills. The hills in the group include the Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Aventine Esquiline, the Caelian Hill. The Palatine, which rises forty meters above the Roman Forum, is considered the birthplace of Rome. Legend has it that the cave in which the she-wolf Luperca was said to have raised the twins Romulus and Remus was located on or near the Palatine. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, and on the hill and its environs are to be found some of the city’s best known monuments. Münster’s view depicts the city still well fortified with great walls and watch towers still standing despite the depredations following the collapse of Imperial Rome in the West. Many of the city’s best known landmarks are easily identifiable, such as the Pantheon, and St. Peter’s in the Vatican which  includes the Belvidere Palace. Other monuments include an overgro