A capriccio of classical ruins with figures

This painting is sold with a copy of the expertise letter by Professor Giancarlo Sestieri, dated 3 December 2003, in which he suggests that the capriccio is by Niccolò Codazzi. Professor Sestieri does not exclude the idea that the figures could be by Niccolò himself, based on models by Jacob de Heusch (1656-1701), a Dutch painter who sometimes collaborated with the master in animating the capricci with figures.