Triumph of Divine Providence

This ceiling was painted between 1632 and 1639, while Urban VIII, born Maffeo Barberini, sat on the papal throne and his family was building this palace, and it glorifies them openly. At the centre Divine Providence sits enthroned on clouds, light streaming from her head, and beside her Immortality holds up a crown of stars. Below, the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, carry a laurel wreath, and inside it three huge bees fly upward, the emblem of the Barberini. On older Barberini arms the same three insects had been horseflies, tafani in Italian, a pun on the family's original name, Tafani da Barberino. Nearby, Rome lifts the papal tiara over the bees and another figure brings the keys of Saint Peter. Further down, Time with his scythe devours one of his children, with the three Fates beside him.