Cesare painted this monumental altarpiece for the oratory of San Giorgio, a sanctuary administered by Genoese expatriates in Messina, Sicily. At center, the Virgin Mary and Christ Child sit on the steps of a classical ruin. They are flanked by the patron saints of Genoa: John the Baptist, who directs our attention to the infant Christ, and St. George, whose banner, adorned with a cross, served as the flag of the Genoese Republic. Above this group, in a charming detail, a cherub struggles to arrange a cloth of honor behind the holy figures. If the painting’s subject is Genoese, its points of reference are multi-regional. Cesare’s sfumato (hazy) handling of flesh tones adheres to a technique recently invented by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. Fictive relief sculptures set into the ruin (Apollo and the Muses beneath the Virgin’s feet, the Judgment of Solomon at upper right) echo recent frescoes painted by Raphael in Rome. Combining the best of various regional styles, Cesare created a new artistic landmark for Messina, a cosmopolitan city at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.