Siena's Palazzo Pubblico features 15th-century heroic frescoes

In the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena, the space preceding the internal chapel features two triads of Roman heroes painted between 1413 and 1414 by Taddeo di Bartolo. One side depicts representatives of biblical Justice, including Cicero, Cato the Younger, and Scipio Nasica, while the other displays symbols of Magnanimity through figures such as Curio Dentato, Furio Camillo, and Scipio Africanus. Aristotle is depicted as the presenter of this assembly.

The iconographic program serves as a guide for rulers, contrasting exemplary republican ideals with negative figures. Caesar and Pompey are presented as a sort of ‘Cattivo Governo’ (Bad Government), serving as antitheses to the models of the ancient world.

The cycle also references the archetype of the ‘Nine Worthies,’ spanning three historical eras: the era ante legem (Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar), the era sub lege (Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus), and the era sub gratia (King Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon).