The Creation of the World (detail of the dome fresco)

The vision of paradise is followed in the next lower section of the dome with scenes from the Genesis. They begin beneath the figure of the Virgin with the Creation of the World, which is depicted in an extremely unusual form here. Outside the sphere of the fixed stars, represented by the signs of the zodiac sits the creator, borne by cherubim and seraphim, before the golden backdrop of the crystal sphere. In the circular zone within the heavens are the orbits of the planets, and in the innermost circle is a world map that depicts not only Italy and the Mediterranean area but also the rest of Europe, North Africa, and Asia.