The paintings are reconstructions of historical scenes from Ancient Rome. In several cases, the identification of the intended subjects are not certain, but they appear to be an account of the expansion of the Roman Empire, from the (possibly legendary) event when Scaevloa thrust his hand into the sacrificial fire before Lars Porsena c.509 BC and the deaths of Lucius Junius Brutus and Arruns Tarquinius (son of Tarquin the Proud) at the Battle of Silva Arsia in 509 BC, through the wars against the Latin tribes of Italy, including Gaius Marcius Coriolanus and Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus fighting against the Volsci, Corioli and Aequi in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the victory of Manius Curius Dentatus over Pyrrhus of Epirus near Taranto in 275 BC, the Second Punic War at the end of the 3rd century including Quintus Fabius Maximus, Hannibal, and the capture of Carthage, to the victory of Gaius Marius over the Cimbri at the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC. It is possible that the victory of the Romans over Carthage was intended as an allegory for the victory of the Republic of Venice over the Ottoman Empire.