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Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileResidents of the Borgo district struggle to save their lives and property as a fire rages, with a notable group on the left mimicking Aeneas carrying his father Anchises from Troy. In the background, Pope Leo IV appears on the loggia of Old St. Peter's Basilica, making the sign of the cross to quench the flames. The scene is framed by elaborate Renaissance architecture and a vaulted ceiling painted by Perugino featuring medallions of the Holy Trinity.
Commissioned by Pope Leo X, the work exemplifies the High Renaissance synthesis of classical literature and Christian history, using the Virgilian motif of 'Pietas' to bolster the moral authority of the Papacy. It reflects the intellectual program of the Vatican Stanze, where humanism, classical philosophy, and divine revelation were viewed as a unified whole.
Virgil
The group on the left depicting a man carrying an elder is a direct visual reference to Aeneas and Anchises from the Aeneid, symbolizing filial piety.
Object
Fresco
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Rome (Italy, October 2019) - 209
5472 × 3648 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on March 31, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.