This splendid masterfully painted jewel depicts in a miniaturist way the extraordinary fireworks display that took place annually in Rome in the past centuries.

In addition to expressing an evident pictorial quality, this small work constitutes an interesting and rare historical document.

According to tradition, the event was conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti for the celebrations of Saints Peter and Paul, founders of the Church and patrons of the city of Rome. Its origins date back to the 16th century, when the Papal State celebrates the main recurrences with fires set up above the entrance of Castel Sant'Angelo to form a pinwheel, with a famous final fountain that gushed over the whole monument. In 1886 the show, considered too dangerous by the Italian authorities, was interrupted, only to be revived in recent years.

 The figurative ability, the extreme precision in describing the sensational choreography of the event, but above all the exceptional chromatism, are all characteristics that distinguish the splendid works of the famous Veneto landscape painter Ippolito Caffi. He, unsurpassed performer of extraordinary city night views full of lights and gleams, was fascinated by this phantasmagoric event, so much so that he immortalized it in several canvases that had great success at the time. Our little gem, very rich in ideas despite its small size, is most likely a work of preparation for large canvases that the Master kept in his studio to show to clients.

The latest photos published are other works by him with the same subject.