The staircase having been ascended, we arrive in a most beautiful gallery, which has a very magnificent door in stone at each end thereof; and over each of these doors are depicted two figures, male and female, the attitude of the one being the contrary of that given to the other, since one presents the front view, the other that of the back; the vaulting is divided by five arches, and is most superbly decorated with stucco-work, between the various parts of which are paintings in oval compartments, and these consist of historical representations, executed with a perfection of beauty that could not be surpassed. The walls of this gallery, moreover, are adorned from the ceiling to the floor with figures of warriors in their armour; some of these are portraits from the life, and others are imaginary, but all are intended to present the various military leaders of the House of Doria, those of ancient as well as of modern times; above them, in large letters of gold, are the following words:—
Magni viri, maximi daces optima fecere pro patria.
In the first Hall, which is entered by one of the two doors of the gallery, that on the left hand namely, is a ceiling, the angles of which are very beautifully decorated with ornaments in stucco, and in the centre is a large picture representing the shipwreck of JEneas, with a vast number of nude figures, living and dead, in attitudes of infinite variety; there are likewise many ships and galleys, some of which are shattered by the tempest, some remain uninjured. Much thought and judgment are here made manifest in the figures of those who, still retaining life, are struggling to save themselves, while their faces express the horror they experience at the prospect of a speedy destruction amidst the raging waters, with all the other passions called into action by the perils to which life is exposed from the chances of the sea.[1]
This was the first historical representation, and is even said to have been the first work begun by Perino for Prince Doria, and some affirm that when he arrived in Genoa,
- ↑ “This work was painted on the wall in oil, and lias therefore totally perished,” remarks Piacenza, “but the fresco paintings have retained their beauty.” Some of them have been engraved by Foio and Cozzi, and one by Longhi, but this last is from a sketch, and not from the painting.
