The Madonna with Saints against pestilence

The majesty is kept in a small church plastered in white, with three small windows and a majolica with the Madonna and Child placed above the front door.

According to an inscription along the lower margin of the painting, this fresco dates back to 1459, and it was commissioned by Ranuccio di Andrea Baglioni, who owned some rustic funds in Sant'Angelo di Celle.

This fresco depicts the Madonna standing with the Child, exchanging an olive branch with six angels, two kneeling below with musical instruments. On the sides, there are Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint James the Apostle, and inside the niche, Saint Bernardino of Siena and Saint Sebastian. Right above the scene is a kneeling Virgin, representing the Annunciation.

The presence of the three saints that the artist placed around the Madonna was not an accident. Saints Antonio, Bernardino and Sebastian were the saints used to obtain liberation and healing from plague. These types of pictorial representations are often found on the many shrines and votive chapels scattered across Umbria.

The value of this work is undoubtedly priceless, and given the year it was created, it is likely the oldest surviving work by the Perugian artist, demonstrating an early phase in which the style of Benozzo Gozzoli was still strongly influencing his work.