The Dam was the heart of Amsterdam. Johannes Lingelbach presented the square as the centre of the city, of the Republic and of the world. To the left in the painting, the new city hall in scaffolding. On the right ships moored in the Damrak harbour, directly connected with the IJ waterway. Goods were transported back and forth to the Waag weighing centre, in the middle of the square. But the decor is subordinate to the people who populate the square. The composition of these characters represents the economic and social activity on the Dam. Groups of merchants discuss the developments on the Beurs, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, day trippers from the country admire the city hall and merchants from the Ottoman Empire bargain over a possible deal. A Mediterranean sunlight shines on the tableau transforming the Dam into a Dutch Forum Romanum. This is the centre of a new empire. Walk from the Dam and enter the main reception room of the city hall. The world lies there, quite literally at the visitor’s feet.