Public Audience Chamber
Sala della Udienza Pubblico
The Sala dell'Udienza, the room in which the Grand Duke received his official guests, was frescoed between 1637 and 1639 by Agostino Mitelli and Angelo Michele Colonna, two painters from Bologna. After waiting in the antechamber, visitors were ushered into this room to be received by the Grand Duke and his court. Only the sovereign would be seated; everyone else was obliged to stand. A motto above the painted staircase reads: "Talk little, and be brief and witty". The frescoes on the walls do not tell a story, but depict scenes of everyday life within the palace.
The fresco in the center of the ceiling depicts an allegorical figure of Time, who banishes deceptive Good Fortune and welcomes Justice supported by Fortitude. The motto reads: "All Fortune is illusory, it passes and does not last. Merit and Virtue last and do not pass away".
The fresco in the center of the ceiling depicts an allegorical figure of Time, who banishes deceptive Good Fortune and welcomes Justice supported by Fortitude. The motto reads: "All Fortune is illusory, it passes and does not last. Merit and Virtue last and do not pass away".