(Ancona 1800–1895 Rome)
The Oath of the Anconetans, signed twice Francesco Podesti,
oil on canvas, 175 x 252 cm, framed, (GG) 

This large-scale painting was executed by the artist as a replica for his own studio of a work that was commissioned by the municipality of Ancona (1844-1856, Pinacoteca Comunale). The size of the present canvas surpasses that of the first version. As he recounts in his memoir, Memorie autobiografiche, the artist introduced primarily chromatic changes to this version. The painting was kept in his studio, as evidenced by a contemporary photo, and was then passed on to his son Giulio and thence to Rome, to a family originally from Le Marche. 
The work depicts a mediaeval episode of Ancona’s municipal history, the resistance of the city to the assault of Frederick Barbarossa’s chancellor, Bishop Christian of Mainz. In the vast scene, constructed as a theatrical machine populated by numerous figures and secondary scenes, the people of Ancona swear their resistance in front of the municipal palace in the presence of the Byzantine ambassador, and chase away the Swabian envoys. It is without doubt a homage to the civic history of Ancona, and to the virtue of its people, but when viewed in the national context of the Risorgimento, the painting embraces even wider meanings, through its tribute to Greek roots and resistance to the Germanic invader. Thus, Il Giuramento degli Anconitani, or Oath of the Anconetans, is connected to Francesco Hayez’ historical paintings inspired by civic events. Podesti tried to compete with Hayez in a neo-Raphaelite rather than neo-Venetian manner, sending historical paintings from Rome to the annual Milanese exhibitions of Brera.