Methodologies and practices in surveying antiquity. Antonio da Sangallo The Younger, Raphael and the map of ancient Rome

Architectural surveying underwent a profound transformation from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, evolving from a technique of documentation into a critical and cultural tool for understanding the past and shaping modern design. This study examines Raphael’s project for the map of ancient Rome, developed with the collaboration of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, as an exemplary case in the cultural and methodological evolution of architectural survey. Sangallo’s approach, combined with Raphael’s ambitious and unified vision, illustrates how surveying was employed as an instrument of investigation and interpretation, aimed at reconstructing the then fragmentary knowledge of the Roman world.