Henner created this work at the Villa Medici in Rome, where he was a boarder between 1859 and 1864.
However, this is no simple view of the Eternal City from the villa's terrace.
The painting brings together groups of "typical" characters, no doubt observed on the spot and easily recognizable by their costumes: monks, peasants, elegant women... in front of a "classical" panorama in which we recognize the silhouette of St. Peter's.
After painting the garden, the artist fictitiously assembles the characters there, in a compositional work worthy of a history painting.
