Naumachia in the Belvedere Courtyard
2023 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Naumachia in the Belvedere CourtyardPerino del Vaga

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This fresco (c. 1545) shows small boats clashing on a flooded arena before stepped terraces and a grand villa. The scene records a staged naval battle, or naumachia (naval combat spectacle ), arranged in the Belvedere courtyard in conscious imitation of ancient Roman shows. Its ordered architecture and choreographed violence present papal power as heir to imperial spectacle.