The frescoes represent the most complete iconographic cycle concerning the story of the foundation of the ancient Trojan city of Lavinium, the mythical Alba Longa. The scenes are divided into several episodes that start from the foundation of the city by Aeneas and continue by recounting the meeting between Mars and Rhea Silvia, up to the birth of the twins, Romulus and Remus.
Discovered in 1875 in Via Principe Amedeo, the fresco decorated an underground columbarium that fell within the area of the Horti Tauriani, owned by Statilius Taurus, a prominent figure at the end of the republic and a friend of Octavian Augustus, which later became part of the imperial domain (53 AD).