Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo

relief by Algardi

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

The relief sculpture, the Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo, by Alessandro Algardi depicts a pivotal historical event. In 452 CE, Attila the Hun, a fearsome warrior who had ravaged parts of the Roman Empire, advanced towards Rome. Pope Leo I, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, met Attila with an unarmed delegation. Miraculously, Leo persuaded Attila to turn back his army, thus saving Rome from destruction. Algardi's sculpture, created between 1646 and 1653, dramatically portrays this encounter, emphasizing Leo's papal power and the divine intervention of Saints Peter and Paul, who are shown assisting Leo in deterring Attila.1234

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Alessandro Algardi
…colossal marble relief of the Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo in St. Peter’s (1646–53), which influenced the development and popularization of illusionistic reliefs. Although he was generally less theatrical than Bernini, Algardi in this work effectively created a larger than life-size narrative whose principal events are dramatically conveyed. With…
Read More
…colossal marble relief of the Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo in St. Peter’s (1646–53), which influenced the development and popularization of illusionistic reliefs. Although he was generally less theatrical than Bernini, Algardi in this work effectively created a larger than life-size narrative whose principal events are dramatically conveyed. With…
Read More