Curiously Morandi chose not depict the moment of the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth which is the traditional way to visualize the Visitation. The painting shows Elizabeth inviting her younger cousin into their home. On the right Zechariah takes the bag from the hands of Saint Joseph. The composition follows along the lines of the more famous painting of the same subject by Federico Barocci in the Chiesa Nuova (1583–86). Even the colours of the robes of the two women are almost the same. The architectural elements in the painting are characteristically Roman. Instead of a humble house in Judea, the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth is a monumental edifice with circular steps leading to the entrance door. There are identifiable Roman buildings in the background: the round Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, the Castel Sant'Angelo and the Meta Romuli. There are cherubs high up in the sky, and the one without wings on his shoulder looks very similar to the sculpted putto supporting the organ loft in the right transept.