Daily Archives: 29 May, 2016

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Apollo (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Apollo (Sala di Apollo)

During the period of the Medici court, the Hall of Apollo (Sala di Apollo) was formerly the antechamber of the “ordinary nobility,” used by gentlemen who were waiting to be received by the Grand Duke inside the Throne Room.  It is dominated by a large altarpiece with the Sacred Conversation by Rosso Fiorentino (1522), the most important Florentine artist of early Mannerism together with Jacopo Pontormo, whose canvas was enlarged in the Baroque period to be adapted to the frame.

On the center of the ceiling vault is the fresco Medici Prince Brought before Apollo by Fame by Pietro da Cortona who provided the complete project (including the stuccos) and started the central figures in 1647 not long before the artist left Florence to return to Rome, delegating the rest of the assignment to his loyal pupil Ciro Ferri,

Ferri completed the decorations in the room 15 years later, between 1659-1661, after being appointed to do so by the Grand Duke, adding the frescos in the lunettes and the superb stucco cornice (a model that was then copied throughout Europe), based on the designs and cartoons left by his teacher Cortona.

The theme alludes to the ideal path of the political and moral education of the young prince, illuminated by Apollo and then guided along the path of knowledge by the laws governing the cosmos as evoked by Hercules holding the celestial globe, an obvious reference to Galileo Galilei’s recent discoveries and a symbol of the weight of the responsibilities of the future sovereign.

Ceiling fresco

Ovals and plumes, in the stucco, are examples of great ancient rulers who resorted to poetry and culture.  The stucco medallions below, showing some of the best-known feats of the Greek god, warns the future sovereign of the weight of responsibility from government and the need to be educated for the task by the Arts and by study.

Fresco of Augustus listening to the reading of the Aeneid,

The square frames show the emperors, including Augustus, intent upon listening to the reading of the Aeneid, or Alexander the Great receiving the poems of Homer, and condottieri from antiquity who favored the development of culture.  In the corbels are the Muses, Apollo’s companions.

Deposition from the Cross (Il Cigoli, 1600-1608)

The pictorial cycle and the articulated group of white stucco and gilt figures that disrupt the Renaissance style of the architectural setting, introduces a significant new element, animating the ceiling with an illusion of male sculptures holding up the heavy festoons and satyrs wrapped in vine tendrils.

Holy Family Bracci  (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1523)

Also in the room are three works by Andrea del Sarto – the majestic and balanced Pietà di Luco (1523-1524), Holy Family Bracci  (ca. 1523) and the Holy Family Medici (1529), one of his last works.   Exhibited nearby are two other works by Titian – the Man with Glaucous Eyes  (ca. 1525) and the famous  Penitent Magdalene (ca. 1530), much copied by the artists who were able to admire her.

Portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain in the dress of a Clarissa  (Pieter Paul Rubens)

There are also other important works of the Venetian school here such as the Portrait of Vincenzo Zeno (ca. 1565) by Tintoretto and the Nymph and the Satyr (1508-1512) by Dosso Dossi (actually the traditional title is incorrect because it is a scene inspired by Orlando Furioso). The Hospitality of San Giuliano (ca. 1612-1618) exemplifies the monumental style of the Florentine Alessandro Allori while Saint Peter Resurrects Tabita (ca. 1618) by the young Guercino and Cleopatra (1640), a mature work of Guido Reni, shows the grandeur of the Bolognese school of the seventeenth century.

Supper at Emmaus  (Jacopo Pistoia, ca. 1570-1572)

Flemish art is also well represented here by the famous double Portrait of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of England by the school of Anton van Dyck,  Portrait of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain in the dress of a Clarissa  (ca. 1625) by Pieter Paul Rubens and the Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere as the Vestal Tuccia (ca. 1640) by Justus Suttermans.

Pieta di Luco (Andrea del Sarto)

Other works in the Hall of Apollo include:

Hall of Apollo: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Mars (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Mars (Sala di Marte)

The Hall of Mars (Sala di Marte) was, at the time of the Medici, the antechamber of the throne room where the chamberlain introduced the nobles, ambassadors and visitors in the presence of the Grand Duke. Dedicated to Mars, it forms part of the cycle of works of the so-called Planet rooms carried out in the 1640s by Pietro da Cortona.

The ceiling vault, frescoed on the theme of war by Cortona between 1643 and 1647, features the Medici coat of arms in the center, held aloft by a cluster of cherubs and topped with a crown inscribed with the name of Ferdinando II de’ Medici who commissioned the impressive decorative work.

Ceiling vault fresco

An allegorical representation of the education of the young prince, Hercules (the young prince’s alter-ego and patron god of the Medici family) is depicted in a naval battle which rages along the perimeter, watched over by Mars, the god of War, who bestows strength to the young man by lighting him with his star.

Medici coat-of-arms

With the enemy weapons spoils given to him by the Dark Gods, Hercules makes a trophy (panoply) while a parade of prisoners, their weapons discarded in the hope of a lasting peace, advances towards the female figures of Victory, Plenty and Peace, crowned with laurel. Rotating on himself, he receives the gladius of victory from Castor and Pollux, to be added to the trophy.

Victory, Plenty and Peace

More than any other room in the Pitti Palace, the Hall of Mars, perhaps due to the theatrical composition and the lively arrangement of characters on the ceiling, reaches the level of Baroque illusionism found in the famous vault in Palazzo Barberini (where Cortona had just completed his Triumph of Divine Providence fresco) in Rome.

Four Philosophers (Peter Paul Rubens, 1612)

In this room there are two Pieter Paul Rubens masterpieces. The monumental  Consequences of the War (1638 ), a grandiose allegory in harmony with the theme of Pietro da Cortona’s frescoes on the ceiling, shows Venus vainly entreating Mars not to go to war. The Four Philosophers (ca. 1612), of great intensity, has a self-portrait at the top left. Both canvases are rich in literary and philosophical citations and often figures from classical mythology appear.

Madonna and Child (Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1650-1655)

San Sebastiano (Guercino’s Workshop)

The room is also accompanied by a series of portraits, among which the most important are by Anton van Dyck (Portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, 1622-1623), Titian (Portrait of Ippolito de ‘Medici, 1532), Tintoretto (Portrait of Alvise Cornaro, ca. 1665) and Paolo Veronese (Portrait of a Gentleman in Fur, ca. 1550-1560).

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (Pieter van Mol)

Other works in the Hall of Mars include:

St. Peter in Tears (From Guido Reni

Hall of Mars: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Saturn (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Saturn (Sala dei Saterno)

The Hall of Saturn (Sala di Saturno), the last in the series of the Planet Rooms, once marked the beginning of the grand duke’s private apartment (it was also known as the Audience Chamber as he held audience here). The ceiling vault was richly painted, in 1663-65, by Ciro Ferri , the best pupil of Pietro da Cortona, who used the master’s drawings.

It represents the conclusion of the cycle of the Planets and the parable of the prince’s earthly life (now close to an end), having completed the journey of identification with Hercules, the Medici hero.  The now immortal old Prince/Hercules is now conducted into the Empyrean, accompanied by Prudence and Mars.

Ceiling fresco

Here, awaited by Saturn/Kronos (the divinity that represents Time), he wins the crown back from Fame and Eternity and then, now perfect, sets out to go up to the stake to conclude his glorious life in the heavens and eternity. At the four corners are many examples of senile wisdom, with episodes from the lives of Cyrus the Great, Lycurgus, Scipio the African and Sulla.

Lunette

In the center of the room is a marble masterpiece statue of Victory (1859) by the modern sculptor Vincenzo Consani. The most consistent nucleus of Raphael‘s anthology of works are located here, allowing you to retrace different periods and styles of his activity.

La Vittoria (Vincenzo Consani)

The Madonna of the Grand Duke (ca. 1506), still linked to the artistic events of Pietro Perugino and Leonardo, celebrates the strength of the first hug, the maternal one, a universal gesture that simultaneously expresses powerful protection and infinite tenderness.

Madonna of the Chair (Raphael, ca. 1513 – 1514)

The Madonna of the Baldacchino (1507 – 1508), on the other hand, is unfinished. Works of full stylistic maturity include the Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami (ca. 1510) and the famous Madonna of the Chair (ca. 1513 – 1514) of great tenderness and sublime in the drafting of the painting, monumental and at the same time sweet familiar scene.

Annunciation della Scala (Andrea del Sarto, 1528)

The exceptional series is completed the Vision of Ezekiel, a later work of 1518, with a very strong monumental composition, according to the Roman style of the painter who will greatly influence the subsequent artists linked to the schools of Classicism and Baroque.

San Sebastiano (Guercino , 1652)

Other important works in the room are the Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1495) by Pietro Perugino, master of Raphael, the Salvator Mundi With the Four Evangelists  (1516) by Fra Bartolomeo and two large paintings by Andrea del Sarto : the Dispute on the Trinity (ca. 1517) and the Annunciation Della Scala (1528).

Other works in the Hall of Saturn include:

Martyrdom of Saint Agatha (Sebastiano del Piombo, 1520)

Hall of Saturn: Room 24, First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Room of the Stove (Florence, Italy)

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Room of the Stove (Sala della Stufa) with the wall fresco The Age of Bronze by Pietro de Cortuna

Located next door to the  Grand Duke’s bedroom, the Room of the Stove (Sala della Stufa) was, in the past, an open loggia or gallery that was later closed off in the seventeenth century and restructured as a “stove,” a bathroom heated using the same techniques as the Roman baths and intended for private use by the Grand Duke. It still contains the pipes of the heating system.

Ceiling fresco

Its decoration, commissioned by Grand Duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici, was done in three phases. Between 1625 and 1627, the Grand Duke employed various Florentine masters including Michelangelo Cinganelli , Matteo Rosselli and Ottavio Vannini to decorate the vaults and lunettes with images of the great monarchies of antiquity and allegorical figures.  The stuccoes were instead made by Antonio Novelli and Sebastiano Pettirossi.

Wall fresco with the Age of Iron(Pietro de Cortuna)

Later, in 1637, Pietro da Cortona was then entrusted to decorate the walls with a depiction of The Four Ages of Man  (a theme inspired by Ovid‘s Metamorphoses and most likely conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger), painting the Golden Age (which alludes to the happy reign of Ferdinand II de ‘Medici and his union with Vittoria della Rovere) and Silver Age (which dates back to the painter’s first stay in Florence in 1637) diptych.

The Age of Gold (Pietro de Cortuna)

In the Golden Age painting, farmers, children and animals coexist in harmony in the imaginary Arcadia, evoking the peaceful and happy rule of Grand Duke Ferdinand II de ‘Medici, whose reign further flourished following his marriage, in 1637, to Vittoria della Rovere.  This joyous event is alluded to by the painter in his portrayal of a young couple courting below the majestic oak, the heraldic emblem of the Rovere family, and the heraldic Marzocco lion, symbol of Florence and the Medici house.

The Age of Silver Pietro de Cortuna)

In 1641, Pietro followed this up with the scenes of the Bronze Age and Iron Age on the basis of a prior plan, paintings which were more agitated and Rubenesque in nature, painted some years apart and which contrast images of a civilized society with the violent events of war, another example of an erudite iconographic technique.

These frescoes, representing a fundamental work of the Baroque in the city, gave new impetus to the Florentine school of painting. The birth of the great Baroque murals, it marked the arrival of a new style in Florence which introduced a lighter lexicon and narrative inspired by the Venetian paintings of Paolo Veronese and the Roman frescoes of Annibale Carracci.

The floor, covered in 1627 with majolica tiles from the Montelupo factory, was almost completely and faithfully restored, copying the ancient design (based on cartoon by Giulio Parigi), and carried out in the early twentieth century by the Cantagalli Manufacture.  In the center of the floor stands the Triumph of the Monarchy, the only original part. Other fragments of the original floor, found in a cellar, are now in display in the adjacent vestibule of the Del Moro staircase.

Works in the Stove Room include:

Frescoes (vault)

Frescoes (walls)

  • Golden Age (Pietro da Cortona, 1637)
  • Silver Age (Pietro da Cortona, 1637)
  • Bronze Age (Pietro da Cortona, 1641)
  • Iron Age (Pietro da Cortona, 1641)
  • Allegory of Commerce (unknown author, 17th century)
  • Allegory of Justice (unknown author, 17th century)
  • Vase (Sèvres manufacture, 19th century)
  • Cloaked female figure with veiled head  (Roman art, 2nd century AD)
  • Female figure with patella and flute  (Roman art, 2nd century AD)
  • Female figure with cornucopia (Cybele?) (Roman art, Imperial age)
  • Vibia Aurelia Sabina  (Roman art, imperial age)

Room of the Stove: Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of the Iliad (Florence, Italy)

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During the Medici era, trucco (“trick, a form of ground billiards) was played here and, in 1689, Cosimo III de Medici made it his own private room, equipped with a chapel. The original decoration, by Giuseppe Nicola Nasini, dates back to that period with the Novissimi, four very large religious canvases that represented the last four moments of life – Death, Justice, the Inferno and Paradise.

Hall of the Iliad (Sala dell’Iliade)

In 1795, the Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany, of the House of  Habsburg-Lorraine, had the religious canvases removed and incorporated the room in the sequence that would constitute a major part into the path of the Palatine Gallery.

Hall of the Iliad (Sala dell’Iliade)

He wanted to have it redecorated with a mythological theme but this program was only realized in 1815, after his return from Napoleonic exile, when he entrusted the enterprise to Luigi Sabatelli  who, from 1819 to 1825, worked on it with the use of aid.

Assembly of the Gods presided over by Jupiter

 

The fresco is a representation of the events prior to the Trojan War (taken from Book XV of Homer’s Iliad).  At the center is the Council of the Gods where Jove (Jupiter) orders the assembled gods to refrain from interfering or trying to influence the outcome of the Trojan War.

Lunettes depicting Juno, who despised the Trojans, using various initiatives to distract Jove with her seductions.

The lunettes, on the other hand, depict Juno, who despised the Trojans, using various initiatives to distract Jove with her seductions.

Statue of Charity (Lorenzo Bartolini)

On display is La Gravida (ca. 1506), a work by Raphael, whose brilliant colors are enhanced by the black background, typical of contemporary Flemish painting.

Baptism of Christ (Paolo Veronese , ca. 1580)

Each wall has a large altarpiece in the center which, as a whole, exemplifies the various currents of the early sixteenth century in Florence.

Assunta Panciatichi (Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1522-1523)

Two, in rigorous symmetry, are by Andrea del Sarto – the Assunta Passerini (1526) and the Assunta Panciatichi (ca. 1522-1523).  Another, the Pala Pitti (1512), is by Fra Bartolomeo, while the Pala Dei (1522) is by Rosso Fiorentino.

Christ in Glory and Saints (Annibale Carracci, ca. 1597-1598)

Other works in the Hall of the Iliad include:

Madonna and Child Enthroned, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Eustace (Niccolò Soggi, ca. 1510)

Hall of the Iliad:First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Ulysses (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Ulysses (Sala di Ulisse)

At the time of the Medici, the Hall of Ulysses (Sala di Ulisse) was the grand duke’s bedroom. From about 1775, when the Hapsburg-Lorraines succeeded as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the room was part of the apartment of Maria Theresa of Habsburg-Lorraine (eldest daughter of Pietro Leopoldo) and, after the Napoleonic interlude, was used, with the nearby rooms, as part of the Palatine Gallery.

In this period, after 1814, Grand Duke Ferdinando III of Hapsburg-Lorraine commissioned Gaspare Martellini to paint on the ceiling the Return of Ulysses to Ithaca (alluding to the return of the Grand Duke after the exile in the Napoleonic period), with a frieze decorated at the corners below with allegories of Loyalty, of Fortress, of Hercules and Apollo. In this room, Il Cigoli‘s Ecce Homo (1607) was selected, during the Napoleonic looting, to be sent to Paris along with the other works of art.

Ceiling fresco

In our museum itinerary, the first painting we encountered was the Madonna dell’Impvecchia (Madonna of the Implanted, ca. 1514), a noteworthy work by Raphael which was made during the artist’s stay in Rome. The Virgin and Child in Glory with Six Saints (1527-1528) is the first work of Andrea del Sarto‘s gallery.

Virgin and Child in Glory with Six Saints (Andrea del Sarto, 1527-28)

Also interesting is the Death of Lucrezia (ca. 1475), one of the gallery’s rare fifteenth-century works and an early painting by Filippino Lippi who decorated a pair of wedding chests made perhaps in collaboration with Botticelli.

Love the Winner (Orazio Riminaldi, ca. 1624)

Other works in the Hall of Ulysses include:

Saint John the Baptist in the Desert (Cristofano Allori, ca. 1612-1615)

Hall of Ulysses: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Prometheus (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Prometheus

The Hall of Prometheus (Sala di Prometeo), in the Medici era, was part of the private apartment of the Grand Duke.  Although intended for a public function, the meeting of the Council of the Grand Duchy was done here in the presence of the Grand Duke himself.

Ceiling fresco (Giuseppe Colignon)

From 1809 to 1814, it was redecorated with frescoes, by the Sienese artist Giuseppe Collignon, with stories of Prometheus (after whom the room is named), both in the large panel of the ceiling and in the monochrome frieze; at the corners the Four Seasons. Here, Prometheus is shown stealing sacred fire from the chariot of Apollo while being protected by Minerva

Tondo Bartolini (Filippo Lippi)

The room is dedicated to the oldest paintings in the collection from the Florentine Renaissance and, in particular, the 12 tondi, typical round-shaped paintings of private homes loved by Florentine patrons but which were inserted into square Neo-Classical frames in later periods.

Other tondi

The most famous of the tondi is the Madonna with the Child (ca. 1465-1470), a masterpiece by Filippo Lippi known as the Tondo Bartolini, of delicate harmony typical of the artist’s maturity.  There are also the two portraits done  by Sandro Botticelli and his shop including the Bella Simonetta.

St. Francis in Ecstasy (Jusepe de Ribera, 1643)

Here is also the Holy Family with a Saint (ca. 1490-1495), a tondo by Luca Signorelli. The first Tuscan Mannerism is represented by the Adoration of the Magi (1523 ) and by the Ten Thousand Martyrs (ca. 1529-1530) by Jacopo Pontormo.

Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Earthly Paradise (Andrea del Minga and Baccio Bandinelli, ca. 1560)

Other works in the Hall of Prometheus include:

Colossal Vase (Sèvres manufacture, 1844)

Hall of Prometheus: First Floor, Palatine Gallery, Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Poccetti Gallery (Florence, Italy)

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Poccetti Gallery (Galleria del Poccetti)

The next room, between the apartments of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, was the Poccetti Gallery (Galleria del Poccetti), also called Poccetti’s Corridor (Corridorio del Poccetti).

Ceiling vault

During the 17th century, this room was once a barrel-vaulted loggia referred to as the “loggetta made into a gallery,” a passageway open to the garden and an interior courtyard that connected the private apartment of the Grand Duke with the apartment of the Grand Duchess.

Allegory of Justice (Mateo Rosselli)

This corridor owes its traditional name to the erroneous attribution of the frescoes on the vault, once believed to be by Florentine artist  Bernardino Poccetti (Bernardino Barbatelli) and, instead, made after his death, at the time of Cosimo II.

It was based on a project by his pupil Michelangelo Cinganelli who executed the pictorial decoration with the help of Filippo Tarchiani, Matteo Rosselli and Ottavio Vannini (1620-25).  In 1813, the logetta was closed off and became a part of the new Palatine Gallery.

Lunette with fresco of Siena with the She-wolf

Lunette with fresco of Florence with the Marzocco

In keeping with the typical taste at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, the ceiling vault is subdivided into squares, cartouches, panels and folders built into the architecture, with allegorical figures such as Faith, Justice and Fortress; in the lunettes the allegories of Florence (with the marzocco) and of Siena (with the she-wolf). The whole is enriched with grotesques and stuccos.  In the center of the hall is a table (1716) commissioned by Cosimo III and done by Giovan Battista Foggini.

Ila and the Nymphs (Francesco Furini, 1630-1633)

Other works in the Poccetti Gallery include:

Bust of Cosimo II (Mattias Ferrucci, 1621)

Poccetti Gallery: Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

 

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – Hall of Music (Florence, Italy)

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Hall of Music (Sala della Musica)

Returning to the Sala del Castagnoli, we then entered the Hall of Music (Sala della Musica) which was built, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, by combining two rooms that connected the respective apartments of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.  With its Neo-Classical decoration, the room was intended for musical entertainment, hence its also being known as the Drums due to the curious cylindrical shape of the furniture such as stools and commodes.  

In 1813, during the Napoleonic period, it was decided to create a “first drawing room of the Emperor” here, decorated with murals depicting the Genius of France and the Napoleonic Battles.  In 1814, with the restoration of the Lorraines, Luigi Ademollo (1764-1849) was commissioned to completely renovated the half-decorated room by creating a new theme for the fresco (Glory of the Habsburg House) on the ceiling.

In 1860 the fresco was retouched by the Savoy family  by adding the Italian flag and giving it a blue mantle and the Savoy crown, thereby transforming the personification of Austria into that of Italy.The monochrome frieze, which shows the Liberation of Vienna from the Turkish Siege in 1683, effectively simulates bas-reliefs.

A table, made in 1819 by Pierre-Philippe Thomire (Napoleon’s court goldsmith), consists of a large block of glowing green malachite dignified the malachite with lion paws and sphinxes and mounted onto a lavish base of gold-plated metal.

Table (Pierre-Philippe Thomire, 1819)

Works in the Music Room also include:

  • Four busts of Roman emperors (Francesco Carradori)
  • Furniture series comprising twelve sideboards and sixteen stools (tambourines) (Florentine manufacture of the century XIX, 1820)
  • Four candelabra (French manufacture of the century. XIX, ca. 1805)
  • Clock (French manufacture of the century. XIX, ca. 1856)
  • Two watches (French manufacture of the century. XIX) 

Monochrome frieze showing Liberation of Vienna from the Turkish Siege in 1683

Hall of Music: Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00). 

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.

Palazzo Pitti – White Hall (Florence, Italy)

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White Hall (Sala Bianca)

During the time of the Medici, this majestic hall, made as the Salone dei Forestieri (Hall for Guests) for Grand Duke Ferdinando I (1549-1609) to house important visitors, was formerly the antechamber to the apartment of the “Cardinals and Foreign Princes” (now known as the “Apartment of the Tapestries”).

Around 1638, the room was decorated with 3 large monochrome pictures painted in 1589 by Ludovico Cigoli (1559-1613), Francesco Mati and Alessandro Allori (1535-1607) for the wedding of Ferdinando I and Cristina of Lorraine (1565-1637).   It later became the drawing room of the apartment of Violante of Bavaria (1673-1731), wife of the Grand Prince Ferdinando (1663-1713).

Stucco ceiling

During the House of Lorraine Period, it was transformed, at the wishes of Grand Duke Peter Leopold, into a sumptuous ballroom (still the largest room in the whole Palace) and was decorated, in high-relief stucco, between 1774 and 1776, by famous stucco makers Grato and Giocondo Albertolli, two brothers from Lugano who were hired by the Grand Duke to also decorate the ballroom of Villa del Poggio Imperiale. The result was so surprising that the Grand Duke decided not to cover the stuccos with gold but, as suggested by the stucco plasterers themselves, left them white, thus giving it the name White Hall (Sala Bianca)

Ceiling detail

All based on symbols of Neo-Classicism, the rich ornamental style of the stucco works adds a refined elegance to the room which is accentuated by the brightness of the white standing out against the pastel colors (pink, green and ochre) on the walls.  After the latest restoration interventions, the delicate tones of these colors were brought back to light.

Corinthian pilasters flanking doorway

The side walls are spaced, at intervals, with Corinthian pilasters and large doorways richly decorated with frames that culminate in segmental pediments leading into the rooms adjacent to the ballroom.

The large chandelier

This decorative setting, with its extremely modern, clean geometric style, was enriched with the sumptuous mirrors (from Paris) and 11 chandeliers (purchased in 1785 from the shop-emporium of Giacinto Micali in Livorno). To provide a symmetrical division of space and light, a larger chandelier was placed in the center and 10 on the sides of the room (4 on the long sides and 2 on each of the shorter ones).  The pavement, of fictive Venetian mosaic, dates from 1829.

Pediment above doorway

In the period just after World War II, this stunning ballroom became the important setting for international fashion.  In 1951, the first catwalk show was organized here by Giovanni Battista Giorgini and, for the following 30 years, the fashion parades in the White Hall have played an important role in spreading the international quality of fashion, making the ‘Pitti’ name world-renowned. Today, the White Room is often used for temporary exhibitions.

Bas-relief

White Hall: Pitti Palace, Piazza de’ Pitti, 1, Florence, Italy. Tel:+39 055 294883. Open Tuesdays-Sundays, 8:15 AM – 6:50 PM. Admission: Palatine Gallery (€8.50), Silver Museum (€6.00), Gallery of Modern Art (€8.50), Costume Gallery/Porcelain Museum/Boboli Gardens/Bardini Garden (€6.00).

How to Get There: Take the C3 or D bus to the Pitti stop.