Procul, of the Aeneid is carved into the pediment and
Woodbridge suggests this is intended as a reference to
the scene when the Cumean Sibyl offers to help Aeneas enter
the underworld (Avernus). However, the same text appears above
the entrance to the Vatican ‘secret garden’ and it is this that might have instead
influenced Henry Hoare’s selection. This element is crucial for the
Aeneid interpretation of Stourhead as it sets the scene for
Aeneas’ descent into Avernus which Woodbridge suggests
is represented in the garden as the grotto