The Good Sheperd

The artwork “The Good Shepherd” (Il buon pastore) by Ale Senso was created as part of the project “In the Footsteps of the Arvales. Voices and Images from the Origins of Rome to Contemporary Times,” curated by Muri Lab APS Association. This project aims to connect archaeology, contemporary art, and urban narrative in the heart of Municipio XI district.

The project, promoted by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture, is the winner of the Public Notice Artes et Iubilaeum – 2025. It is funded by the European Union Next Generation EU for large tourist events under the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), measure M1C3 – Investment 4.3 – Caput Mundi.

Description: the artist was inspired by a fresco which is still inside the Catacomb of Generosa, the only really visible and accessible archaeological evidence in the Magliana Vecchia area.

Ale Senso likes to imagine the figure of the Good Shepherd as being born under the sign of Gemini, a figure with a binary nature, like day and night. Both figures and their nature, in fact, come from the ancient world, have similar iconographies but with very different, opposite origins and meanings.

The daytime -solar- nature leads us to a Christian image representing Jesus as a shepherd who guides and protects the flock, while the nighttime nature refers to Orpheus, a mythological figure, often depicted as a shepherd, but also a poet and musician who enchants all creatures and attempts to bring Eurydice back to life from the underworld.

Both descended into the realms of death, albeit for very different purposes and situations, and each returned to life. It is precisely with this meaning that they are painted at the entrance of many catacombs, as in the case of Generosa.

Both are guides of souls, shamans, and psychopomps, in the complex metaphors of the afterlife. Returning to life and telling the tale is an extraordinary undertaking, beyond comprehension, but it seems we cannot do without it, at least because staring into space for a long time terrifies us. So we give form, body, and history to something or someone who does it for us, using the grammars we feel most intimately close and adding captivating details. But this is fine too; it is necessary; this too is poetry, myth, life, and history linked together in the continuous wandering of the human being. Both embody a desire for purity, calm; they look after the human beings in their arms like little lambs, lull them to sleep serenely by playing the flute and sharing their parables.

The artist chose to represent the “Good Shepherd” standing, holding a pan flute and a stick, surrounded by four sheep in a circle, because the sculpture is a dovetail whole, emphasizing that one thing supports the other and is exactly where it needs to be to sustain the function of the others.

Materials Used: aluminum, Stainless Steel, Galvanized Steel, water-based bonding agent, water-based paints, water-based transparent protective varnish.

Location: inside Parco Gioia, not far from the entrance on Via Fulda.

Installation Date: installed between November 10 and 12, 2025.

Photos of the artwork

To learn more about the project and the other artworks

Or to learn more about the Catacombs of Generosa and the figure of the Good Shepherd:

The catacomb is named after Generosa, a Roman matron who owned the tuff quarry where the funerary complex was established. The catacomb is made of several rooms, including one called the “Tomb of Generosa” where an arcosolium burial is located, excavated into the wall and surmounted by an arched niche. Arcosolia were generally reserved for the burials of particularly important persons.

The niche is decorated by frescoes and features the figure of the Good Shepherd on the left and a pastoral scene on the right. The painting is dated back to the last twenty-five years of the 4th century AD.