J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Viterbo and Ronciglione Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ronciglione from the South, with the Porta Romana and the Cathedral 1828

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ronciglione from the South, with the Porta Romana and the Cathedral’ 1828
Folio 8 Recto:
Ronciglione from the South, with the Porta Romana and the Cathedral 1828
D21779
Turner Bequest CCXXXVI 8
Pencil on white wove paper, 171 x 125 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘8’ top left, ascending vertically, and ‘173’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXVI 8’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This is the first of nine consecutive works depicting Ronciglione, and one of eleven in the overall sketchbook: see also folios 6 recto, 8 verso–12 recto and 13 recto (D21775, D21780–D21787, D21789). Leaving behind Caprarola, Turner continued his journey south to discover Ronciglione, which borders Lake Vico to the south-east.
As noted by the geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot, the volcanic contours of Ronciglione captured Turner’s imagination; the town lies at the confluence of two ravines on the south-eastern slopes of the same volcanic mass encompassing Lake Vico, which is among the highest lakes in Italy.1 Exploring the natural topography of this area on foot, Turner went down into the ravine and back up the slopes to capture low-angle views of the town, several of which exaggerate the verticality of the slopes and the buildings perched on top.2
This page contains two views of Ronciglione, executed with the sketchbook turned vertically. The upper study offers a north-facing view of the town, with the early seventeenth-century Porta Romana in the foreground, and the dome and belltower of the Cathedral of Santi Pietro e Caterina visible beyond.
The lower study offers a comparable view encompassing more of the steep ravine. Visible to the left is the Porta Romana, the cathedral is outlined on the horizon, and the Romanesque belltower of the Church of Santa Maria della Provvidenza features at the centre.

Hannah Kaspar
December 2024

1
Roland Courtot, ‘12. Vers Rome: “Carnet de Viterbe et Ronciglione” (TB CCXXXVI)’, Carnets de voyage de Turner, accessed 23 July 2024, https://carnetswt.hypotheses.org/2312.
2
Ibid.

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Ronciglione from the South, with the Porta Romana and the Cathedral 1828’, catalogue entry, December 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/ronciglione-from-the-south-with-the-porta-romana-and-the-cathedral-r1210548, accessed 15 April 2025.