(Narni 1781–1851 Rome)
The ruins of the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome after the fire of 16 July 1823, signed, dated Diofebi f:1823, oil on canvas, 58.5 x 46 cm, framed, (GG) 

Provenance:
Acquired by Pietro Dovizielli (1809-1885) Rome, the great-great-grandfather of the current owner;
then by inheritance to the current owner;
Private Collection, Italy.

The fire at the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura developed under the papacy of Leo XII, in the night between 15 and 16 July 1823. In particular, it damaged the roof of the church, causing the walls of the central navy to collapse and destroying some of the precious columns of the church. The painting depicts the day after the fire, showing the destroyed church in its desolate and forlorn state. In his “Promenades dans Rome” (1829), Stendhal offers a literary description of the same scene depicted in the painting: 
“I visited St. Paul the day after the fire and found austere beauty and the mark of misfortune. Everything evoked the horror and disorder of that fateful event; the church was full of black beams, still fuming and half charred; large fragments of columns split from top to bottom threatened to collapse at the slightest jolt. The Romans who gathered in the church were dismayed. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed: it alone was worth a trip to Rome in 1823.” 

Another version of the same painting by Francesco Diofebi is preserved at the Museo di Roma at the Palazzo Braschi.