Speranza is shown as a praying woman, eyes hopefully lifted to the skies, to her feet the Phoenix as the symbol of rebirth. 'Hope' quite plainly hints at St. Thomas's statement that the theological virtues 'have God for their object, both in so far as by them we are properly directed to Him, and because they are infused into our souls by God alone'.
Atheists, ravens and other rapscallions are of course entitled to see Hope as what it is - the hope that a desire gets fulfilled or a bad situation gets better.