In 1797 in Genoa the factory of the basilica of N. S. delle Vigne held a competition for a fresco to be painted in the apse of the church, which was to celebrate the beginning of the Ligurian Democratic Republic and the continuity of Mary's protection over the city. Two painters joined it, Giuseppe Costa and Santino Tagliafichi. The latter prepared a complex allegory in which Liguria, represented at the bottom of the drawing, tramples the insignia of the aristocracy, while the figure of the Religion indicates Mary as the protector of the state. The title, the date and the artist's signature appear on the lower left on a marble scroll. The work was not completed and the drawing presented here is the definitive sketch, the only and significant testimony of a convulsive historical and political moment in the city.

Bibliography
G.Bozzo, Santino Tagliafichi (1756-1829). Tradizione e modernità a Genova tra Sette e Ottocento, Genova, Sagep, 2013