A BIT IN DEEP: STANZA OF HELIODORUS

The episodes frescoed on the walls of the room spring from apocryphal Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Church History.

The narrative complexity, which drives Raphael, suggests that the best humanists of the papal court assisted him inspiring his work.

The episode depicted in the expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, shows at the center of the fresco the high priest Onias invoking God's help to oust Heliodorus from the Temple in  Jerusalem who wanted to desecrate. And the divine help comes thanks to a knight who reduces Heliodorus and his followers. In the scene, once again is depicted Julius II.

Beyond the clear metaphor, represented by divine intervention to protect the church, which is the theme of the room, of exceptional cultural and historical interest is the simultaneous presence in the scene of the Pope and of Onias, to represent the uniqueness of the Christians and the Jews God.

In the Mass of Bolsena, in addition to Julius II della Rovere are portrayed cardinals Edward Grosso della Rovere, Raffaele Riario, Tommaso Riario and Agostino Spinola, all related with Julius II.

In the episode of the meeting of Leo the Great and Attila is clear the contrast, emphasized by light effects, between the part where are Attila and the Huns, dominated by a whooping drama and the part where advances serenely Leo the Great with his entourage.

In the fresco Leo X appears twice, first as cardinal and the second as Pope. The explanation is that Pope Julius II died in 1513 and he was succeeded by Leo X; obviously when Raphael had painted the future Leo X as Cardinal Julius II was still alive, when he died, he turned Julius’ face into that of Leo, so that Leo X appears in two different roles.

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