Pictorial depictions of the Italian landscape have had a seminal influence on landscape architecture. Studied on the “Grand Tour” by generations of landscape painters, Rome and its environs are source material for the scenic theories that are a cornerstone of the profession. They have been so influential, that recent scholars have pilloried them to make room for ideas of performance and infrastructure. Yet visual experiences remain an essential component of landscape design and common failing of infrastructures. My proposal for the Rome Prize is to reconcile scenic theories with performative currents in landscape architecture. In the spirit of how the sketching informed Salon landscape paintings, I will develop a “sketch” process that uses custom software and contemporary design tools to link visual experience with landscape performance and process. My focus will be on Rome’s urban waterways; an important subject of painters and critical focus of landscape architecture.