The collection of forty-two maps of the city of Rome dates from the mid-16th century to the late 19th century, and originally formed part of the library of collector, philanthropist, gallerist and patron of the arts, Countess Anna Laetitia Pecci-Blunt (1885-1971). Included are maps by the printmakers Nicolas Beatrizet, Ambrogio Brambilla, Étienne Dupérac, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and Giuseppe Vasi.

Anna Laetitia ("Mimì") Pecci-Blunt was born on 15 March 1885. Her father, Count Camillo Pecci was head of the Guardia nobile pontificia and a nephew to Pope Leo XIII (Vicenzo Gioacchino Pecci), and her mother, Silvia Bueno y Garzon was a Spanish noblewoman from Cuba. After passing the years of World War I in Switzerland, Anna Laetitia Pecci settled in Paris and soon immersed herself in artistic and intellectual circles, becoming friends with Georges Braque and Jean Cocteau. She was introduced to the wealthy and cultured American banker, Cécil Blunt, son of the collector Ferdinand Blumenthal. The marriage between the two was celebrated in 1919 with the benediction of Pope Benedict XV, who gave Cécil Blunt the title of Count Pecci-Blunt. The couple took up residence in Paris where they opened their home to writers, poets, artists and musicians including Salvador Dalì, Cocteau, Paul Valéry, Francis Poulenc and Paul Claudel. The Pecci-Blunts had five children: Dino, Laetitia, Viviana, Camilla and Graziella.

42 maps

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