Little is known about the painter, draughtsman, engraver and carver Pompeo Cesura dell’Aquila. Born at an unknown date in Aquila, he moved to Rome early in his career, where he became associated with the school of Raphael, and worked in the church of Santo Spirito di Sassia. Returning to Aquila, he painted the Miracle of Saint Anthony for Saint Anthony’s Chapel in the church of San Pietro di Coppito and a Raising of the Cross for the church of Sant’Amico. The Magistrate of Aquila commissioned him to paint a Crucifixion, which was sent to Spain, and he is recorded as having carved a wooden statue of San Pietro Celestino. In 1569 he worked on the decorations for the entry into Aquila of Margaret of Austria, and ran a flourishing workshop in the town until shortly before his death. Much sought after as a draughtsman, he provided drawings for a number of engravings by Orazio de Sanctis.