Madonna della Vittoria's Frescoes

Saint Jerome, his full name was Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius, was born in Stridon, Croatia, in the 4th century. He lived in the desertic areas near Antiochia, between Syria and Turkey, for many years. He dedicated his life to the study of sacred texts, and died in Bethlehem, though his body was brought to Rome and buried in Santa Maria Maggiore. His most important work is the Vulgate, written in Latin, a transcription of some sections of the Greek Old Testament and then of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. He is often painted by the most important painters of all time, he is a symbol of faith, knowledge and intense dedication to solitary life. He is the protagonist of the renown legend in which he cures and taims a lion. Here he appears in the role of scholar and writer, inside a monastic cell. His hand lightly touching a sacred text, a sign indicating total interpenetration between divine verb and human existence. The characterizing halo is almost a material circle that gives a rhythm to the tondo in which he appears.