Room of Giovanni di San Giovanni
Sala di Giovanni di San Giovanni
The first room of Ferdinando II's "summer apartments" is the Salone di Giovanni da San Giovanni, which is named after the painter Giovanni Mannozzi, who came from the town of San Giovanni in Valdarno. He executed the frescoes on the ceiling and the entrance wall. They were painted between 1635 and 1636 to mark the marriage of Ferdinando II (1610-70) and Vittoria della Rovere (1622-94), which had formally taken place in August 1634, but which was not celebrated and consummated until 1637, owing to the youth of the bride who had been raised at the Florentine court.
The frescoes on the wall depict Greek culture leaving Athens (following its conquest in 1458 by the Ottoman Turks) and arriving in Florence, the new Athens, under the benevolent rule of Lorenzo the Magnificent. In the center of the ceiling Giovanni painted an allegory of the grand-ducal marriage. Juno and Venus, the goddesses of marriage and love, flank the Medici coat of arms that bears a crown . In the right half of the picture the Fates are at work, Clotho and Lachesis spinning and measuring out the thread of life, while Atropos with her shears attacks a branch of an oak tree, which is already withering. Cupids are plucking the leaves that are still green and weaving them into the Medici coat of arms. After Giovanni's death in 1636 the frescoes were continued by Cecco Bravo, Ottavio Vannini and Francesco Furini. They were completed in 1642.
The Salone di Giovanni da San Giovanni, which provided the link between the suites of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, served as the antechamber to the Sala dell' Udienza (Audience Chamber) and was used on special occasions for receptions and banquets.
The frescoes on the wall depict Greek culture leaving Athens (following its conquest in 1458 by the Ottoman Turks) and arriving in Florence, the new Athens, under the benevolent rule of Lorenzo the Magnificent. In the center of the ceiling Giovanni painted an allegory of the grand-ducal marriage. Juno and Venus, the goddesses of marriage and love, flank the Medici coat of arms that bears a crown . In the right half of the picture the Fates are at work, Clotho and Lachesis spinning and measuring out the thread of life, while Atropos with her shears attacks a branch of an oak tree, which is already withering. Cupids are plucking the leaves that are still green and weaving them into the Medici coat of arms. After Giovanni's death in 1636 the frescoes were continued by Cecco Bravo, Ottavio Vannini and Francesco Furini. They were completed in 1642.
The Salone di Giovanni da San Giovanni, which provided the link between the suites of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, served as the antechamber to the Sala dell' Udienza (Audience Chamber) and was used on special occasions for receptions and banquets.
left:
Giovanni da San Giovanni, Time Ruins All. (An old man (Time) devours books by ancient Greek authors, assisted by Satyrs (barbaric people) Mohamet II, in flight, will complete the work of destruction, |
center:
Giovanni da San Giovanni, Satyrs chase Culture from Mt. Parnassus. Saffo flees, with her violin; Dante is beside her, along with Plato, Homer, and Aristotle. |
right:
Giovanni da San Giovanni, Meeting of the fugitives and the Tuscans. Empedocles cries at the loss of books; a Virtue presents the fugitives to the Tuscans, shown in sumptuous clothing, greetings the foreigners. |