In this caprice - or fantasy - view of Roman ruins the artist has combined Trajan's Column at the left with the Farnese Hercules, and the Colosseum behind. At the right is the Arch of Constantine, and in the extreme right is the Borghese Vase (which is now in the Louvre). In the foreground several figures and a dog animate the scene, while in the distance is the façade of the Temple of Fortuna Virilis and, beyond, the Pyramid of Caius Cestius.

The painting forms a pair with another work in the royal collection, the 'Caprice View with the Pantheon and Roman Ruins' (RCIN 405655). The two pictures are good autograph works and are likely to date from the 1730s. Despite being cleaned in 1963, the final digit of the date is not legible on either picture. Various replicas and variations of both compositions have been recorded. It is likely that the paintings were acquired as a pair, probably by George III and conceivably via Dalton's purchasing activities in Rome.

Signed on the base of the Hercules statue, left: I. P. PANINI / ROMA, with indistinct traces of a date, probably 173 [5?]