Stanza dell'Incendio di Borgo 02

Amidst the chaos of a city fire, citizens are shown rescuing the elderly and fetching water against a backdrop of classical architecture and the old St. Peter’s Basilica. On the far left, a young man carries his aged father on his back, a deliberate recreation of the classical scene of Aeneas escaping the fall of Troy. The ceiling features a tondo by Perugino depicting a celestial figure, likely God the Father or Christ, surrounded by angels.

The artwork represents the Renaissance synthesis of classical mythology and Christian history, specifically linking the 'pietas' (duty/devotion) of the Roman hero Aeneas to the authority of the Papacy. This reconciliation of the pagan antique world with the Christian present was a core project of Neoplatonic humanist circles in Rome during the early 16th century.