The Earliest Known Portrait of a Town

According to art historian J.G. Links in his book Townscape Painting and Drawing (1972), the earliest known true townscape is this relief by a sculptor of Avezanno, in the Abruzzi region of Italy (photo: Alinari):

Links defines "townscape" as a work of art in which a street, town or city itself is the subject.

The sculpture dates from the 1st century AD, when this region was the site of several bustling Roman towns on the edge of Lake Fucine.  The town depicted in the relief exhibits a clear separation between built and unbuilt landscapes.  Several blocks of structures are arranged compactly within a high gated wall.  A villa and several other individual structures are visible amid the rugged open countryside outside the wall.

In the 19th century, Prince Alessandro Torlonia had Lake Fucine drained and converted to fertile farmlands.  During the drainage process many artifacts from the earlier Roman settlements, including this relief, were discovered.  These artifacts formed the core of the Torlonia Collection, one of the world's finest private collections of artworks from antiquity.

Amazon: Townscape Painting and Drawing (by J.G. Links)