Hannibal’s Hall

In the central panel the Battle of Trasimeno (a) is represented, four episodes linked to the figure of Hannibal: Army on the march, Landing of the fleet (b), an unspecified scene of the Battle and the General’s Clemenza. The famous clash between Hannibal’s troops and the Roman army led by Consul Caio Flaminio took place in 217 B.C. near today’s Tuoro on Lake Trasimeno.

The Roman forces were taken by surprise and decimated. According to sources about fifteen thousand soldiers lost their lives and ten thousand took refuge throughout Etruria, to then arrive in Rome by different roads (Livio, Ab Urbe Condita, XXII, 7, 2). The decoration of the hall, also called of Ascanio II, in addition to illustrating an event that is still remembered today in the toponymy of the territory (Ossaia, Sanguineto, Sepoltaglia), represents an example to be emulated for Ascanius II, son of Diomedes, called at a very young age to a military career.