The Chapel
Cappella
The next room is the chapel, created by the Lorenese in the 18th century out of the original Alcove, that is, the "official" bedroom of Grand Prince Ferdinando. The changeover notwithstanding, the Chapel retains a large part of its original, late baroque, Medici-era decoration. The white and gold stucco work and the cartouches bearing symbols and sayings relating to Grand Prince Ferdinando were designed by Giovan Battista Foggini, to whom is also attributed the design of the carved and gilded wooden grating that encloses the arch behind which the prince's bed was originally concealed. The altar, with its ivory Crucifix and the boiseries by G. B. Dolci (1765), added during the Lorraine period, can still be seen, while the crimson damask that covers the walls, and the French carpet, were added during the following century. Between 1867 and 1868, a number of furnishings were brought from residences of the Bourbons of Parma in order to soften the chapel's austerity. They include a large mirror (the original coat of arms was replaced with that of the Savoys) and an exquisite French table cover from the middle of the 17th century, made of velvet embroidered with silver threads, paillettes and silver tinsel. And, like Grand Prince Ferdinando, who arranged in this room some of his most valuable paintings in his collection (Titians, Rembrandts, Van Dykes), the Savoys hung here some of their best and most visually striking paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Carlo Dolci's Mother and Child. This painting had originally belonged to Vittoria delle Rovere and was later enclosed in a very elaborate frame made in the grand ducal workshops on the basis of a design by Giovan Battista Foggini.