Camera sepolcrale inventata a disegnata conforme al costume, e all' antica magnificenza degl' Imperatori Romani (Imaginary sepulcral chamber designed according to the fashion and ancient magnificence of the Roman Emperors ...)

The city of Rome was riddled with ancient catacombs. Prior to the Empire's acceptance of Christianity, Romans were cremated and their ashes interred in tombs outside the city walls. Piranesi was fascinated by mortality and decay, yet his vast chamber is full of the living as well as the dead, and vegetation sprouts from every available crevice. By depicting figures in the upper galleries on a tiny scale the artist exaggerates the space, a theatrical trick used by Palladio in Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza, in 1584, and imitated by designers from then on.

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