On the ground floor of the GAM we find the Great History characterized by the stories of the characters who changed the course of history.
In the monumental format painting of the historical genre by Guglielmo De Sanctis Donna Olimpia Pamphilj and Innocent X in the presence of a cardinal, 1891 we find characters who lived in the seventeenth century, but the protagonist who dominates the canvas is the powerful Donna Olimpia, energetic and with a very strong character , who exerted a great influence on Pope Innocent X, his brother-in-law, whose figure is placed in the background, more in the shade.
Right in front of it, in the same room, in I Vespri siciliani by Erulo Eroli, we find the same frightened and offended woman on her wedding day. The painting stages the famous revolt of 1282, which sees the young woman as the protagonist and waiting to see her dignity and justice restored. A woman who remains in her place is good for the story, this painting would seem to suggest, as well as others in the Gallery dedicated to genre scenes.
And the two young female figures weeping in front of the Garibaldian burial, while a tricolor flag is waving outside in the riots, in the work by Filippo Liardo, Sepoltura garibaldina, 1878, are also participants in the Great History.
