A beauty of a painting showing a slice of the empirical might of the British Royal Navy, two of her stalwart ships are under sail in the Bay of Naples. This crisp detailed narrative art work by Mediterranean artist Tomaso de Simone is composed with a broadside view of a fighting frigate, flying a British Royal Navy ensign.

The headland of Mount Vesuvius and the Florentine architecture of Naples with its environs are visible beyond another larger, multiple decked British warship. Atop the most elevated hill is the large ancient acropolis of Neapolis, where the “Istituto Universitario Suor Orsola Benincasa”, a university that traces it origin to an agreement between the King of Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire in 1224, settled in the 20th Century.

Sharp lined, full sails moving her at a good clip, the frigate type is identified by the single deck of full-sized (at least 24 pounders, possibly up to 34 pounders) cannon ports in a horizontal line. Lanteen rigs of Mediterranean sailing vessels are noticeable, and the high clouded sky hold fumes from the iconic volcano of the Mediterranean shore. Exceptionally detailed, De Simone’s work is an outstanding historic view of European context and British naval content.