Wender·Vista
Rome
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
on the Tiber, in central Italy

Rome

— — a city that keeps every century at once.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The capital of Italy and, for two thousand years before that, the capital of an empire that gave the West its roads and its laws. Seven hills, one river, a skyline of domes and umbrella pines. The Pantheon's oculus still opens to the rain; the Colosseum still counts its arches in late-afternoon light. Every layer of city sits on the one before it.

from the studio
Rome
— bring it home

Rome, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Rome

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Rome sits on the Tiber River in the Lazio region of central Italy, about twenty-four kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The historic center, on the seven hills of the left bank, has been continuously inhabited since the eighth century BC. The city covers 1,285 square kilometers and holds about 2.8 million residents, with over four million in the metropolitan area. Vatican City, the seat of the Catholic Church, lies within the city as a separate sovereign state. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

— informed by Wikipedia, UNESCO
— the stone

Rome is built in travertine, tuff, brick, and marble, and rebuilt in each. The Colosseum's outer arches use travertine from quarries near Tivoli, finished in AD 80 under Titus. The Pantheon, completed under Hadrian around AD 126, holds the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome at 43.3 meters across. Baroque Rome, from Bernini's colonnade at St. Peter's to the Trevi Fountain finished in 1762, layers softer Carrara marble over the older substructure. The eras do not replace one another so much as wear through.

— informed by Wikipedia: Pantheon
— the visit

The historic center is walkable in a long day, but Rome rewards a slower pace. The Vatican Museums require timed tickets and queue by 8 a.m. in summer. The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine share a combined ticket valid for twenty-four hours. The Pantheon, free until 2023, now requires a small entry fee. Late afternoon, after the day-trip coaches leave, the city becomes quieter; Trastevere and the Aventine settle into evening light. August thins out as Italians leave for the coast.

— informed by Vatican Museums
— where
Italy · Rome, Lazio
— elevation
21 m · 69 ft
— position
41.9028° N · 12.4964° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km W
Vatican City
sovereign state
at the lake
Trevi Fountain
fountain
1 km
Pantheon
Roman temple
2 km SW
Trastevere
neighborhood
N
Rome
Vatican City
Trevi Fountain
Pantheon
Trastevere
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Rome — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Tradition dates the founding to 753 BC, when Romulus is said to have marked out the city walls on the Palatine Hill. Archaeological evidence of continuous settlement on the site reaches back at least to the tenth century BC.

The traditional seven are the Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal. The Capitoline and Palatine are the political and ceremonial cores; the Aventine remains the quietest residential district.

The Pantheon's dome measures 43.3 meters across and remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Completed under Hadrian around AD 126, the oculus at its top is the only source of natural light.

Vatican City lies entirely within Rome but is a separate sovereign state, established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty. It covers about 0.49 square kilometers and is the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.

Construction began under Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed under his son Titus in AD 80. The amphitheater seated an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and remained in use for over four centuries.

The city of Rome holds about 2.8 million residents within its municipal boundaries. The metropolitan area, including surrounding Lazio communes, totals roughly 4.3 million people.

— about the piece in your home

For Italian-American families, returning travelers, and friends with a year spent in the city, Rome is among the most personal images. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio carries the right weight.

The warm ochres and travertine tones sit well in Tuscan-modern, Mediterranean, and warm Maximalist interiors. The piece anchors a dining room or a library without dominating it.

The dense color and the architectural silhouette read as Maximalist when paired with rich textiles, wood, and brass. In a quieter Minimalist room, the same piece becomes the single warm anchor.

A single Large reads cleanly above a console. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural opens the skyline across the wall. For a wide dining-room wall, a 9-tile Mural lets the domes and pines find their scale.

Yes, when ordered in Dura Satin or Matte. Both finishes are scratch-resistant and handle splash and steam well. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth with plain water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and rests beneath the finish, so the tile cleans like any sealed stone.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in Knoxville by Reid Wender and hand-finished by the studio. The work is not licensed from any third party, and no two place compositions are repeated.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada