Where Is The Fire in the Borgo? See It at Vatican Museums

Q: What event does The Fire in the Borgo depict?

The fresco shows Pope Leo IV miraculously stopping a fire in Rome's Borgo neighborhood in 847 CE. He allegedly extinguished the flames by making the sign of the cross.

Q: Did Raphael paint The Fire in the Borgo himself?

Raphael designed the composition but his workshop assistants executed much of the actual painting. By 1514, Raphael ran a large studio and supervised rather than painted many commissions.

Q: What does The Fire in the Borgo depict?

Raphael a young man carries his elderly father on his back, echoing Aeneas and Anchises from Virgil's Aeneid. The muscular figures reflect Michelangelo's influence on Raphael's later style.

The Fire in the Borgo depicts a miraculous event from 847 CE when Pope Leo IV extinguished a fire in Rome's Borgo district by making the sign of the cross. Raphael designed this fresco around 1514 for the Stanza dell'Incendio, though assistants executed much of the painting.

The composition shows dramatic figures fleeing flames in the foreground while the Pope calmly blesses from the Vatican loggia in the background. A young man carries his elderly father on his back, echoing Aeneas and Anchises from Virgil's Aeneid. The muscular figures reflect Michelangelo's influence on Raphael's later style. The fresco remains in the Vatican Museums.

The fresco shows Pope Leo IV miraculously stopping a fire in Rome's Borgo neighborhood in 847 CE. He allegedly extinguished the flames by making the sign of the cross.

Raphael designed the composition but his workshop assistants executed much of the actual painting. By 1514, Raphael ran a large studio and supervised rather than painted many commissions.

Raphael a young man carries his elderly father on his back, echoing Aeneas and Anchises from Virgil's Aeneid. The muscular figures reflect Michelangelo's influence on Raphael's later style.

The Fire in the Borgo

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

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The Liberation of Saint Peter

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