For Shchedrin, just as for all Romantic artists, Italy was a country of sunshine, happiness and eternal summer. One of his favourite themes was midday rest (siesta). Shchedrin juxtaposes the shady, cool veranda with the sunlit open space in the background. The small and agreeable human world is presented as an integral part of the infinite universe. "Verandas" are a place where the artist’s favourite personages – vagabonds and beggars – live as if in a semi-drowsy state, languidly resting in the cool shade. "An Italian doesn’t need much. If he is not dying of hunger, then he is the happiest man in the world," wrote Shchedrin.