ABSTRACT
The Italian topographers had much in common with the scenic designers, and many of them were skilled in both arts. Venetian topographie painting dates back to 1496 and Gentile Bellini's view ofthe Piazza S. Marco (8.2), recently described as 'certainly the earliest topographically accurate painting to have survived' (though a purist might remark that it is a combination of two or three viewpoints).
