Guided tour
From the quadrangular courtyard of honor, decorated with loggias and porches [porticati] with brick and sandstone capitals, to the chapel of court or chapel of St. Nicomedes. Here was once an altarpiece depicting the Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints Anthony Abbot, Nicomedes, Catherine and Peter Martyr, dated 1462, signed by Benedetto Bembo and a wooden tribune [tribunetta lignea] attributed to to the workshop of Da Baiso, decorated with polychrome floral inlays and carvings, depicting the Rossi coat of arms (lion rampant) and the hearts of Pier Maria Rossi and Bianca Pellegrini, his mistress. These furnishings are now in the Museum of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
Later we meet a series of frescoed rooms in the "Grotesque" style, typical motifs of the XVIth century. Each room conventionally takes the name of the most important decoration: room of Jupiter, of the Bower, of Landscapes, of Victory, the Angels, the Curtain, the Coat of Arms. The paintings, in the absence of convincing archival documents, are attributed on a stylistic basis to Cesare Baglione and collaborators, to Innocenzo Martini and Giovanni Antonio Paganino.
The chronological period of execution must be restricted, on the basis of the interpretation of coats of arms, to the years 1584-1592. The occasion for the paintings is the celebratory objective with regard to the family of Sforza di Santa Fiora, who became the owner of the castle, who wanted, in about 1575, a number of interventions that clearly accentuated the residential function: lowering of defensive walls, enlargement of doors and windows, transformation of the stands [spalti, perhaps referring to the tribunetta mentioned earlier] into orchards and gardens. To this period belong also the two loggias, on the eastern side, an element of increased openness to the castle outwards. The patron of the cycle was the grotesque Cardinal Francesco Sforza di Santa Fiora, son of Sforza and Catherine de Nobili. Going up to the main floor from the room of the Acrobats we come to the bridal chamber, known as the Golden Chamber [Camera d'Oro] implemented around 1463. Here is told the story of the love between Rossi and Bianca Pellegrini, known at the court of Milan. Terracotta tiles, originally gilded and painted, cover the walls with motifs of coats of arms, hearts and the initials of the intertwined lovers.
In the lunettes, among putti musicians and symbolic animals, is illustrated, according to the canons of International Gothic, the delicate story of the falling in love of the two, blindfolded Cupid [as] accomplice, of the delivery of the sword and laurel wreath to the victorious Rossi, of the triumph of the lovers. In the vault, Bianca, dressed as a pilgrim, slipped lightly among villages and castles of Rossi's domain spread out from one extreme to another of the region, in the plain, in the hills and in the mountains. What is represented is an extraordinary geographical map of the essential topography of the mountains, the rivers, the settlements, the road system, the agrarian cultures. The cycle, assigned by most to Benedetto Bembo, but by some to Bonifacio Bembo or Francesco Tacconi, is also attributed to Gerolamo Bembo. [ Il ciclo, assegnato per lo più a Benedetto Bembo, ma da alcuni a Bonifacio Bembo o a Francesco Tacconi, è stato attribuito anche a Gerolamo Bembo.] From the porch [logiato] of the Camera D'Oro, a sixteenth century harmonious addition, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the river, the hills with vineyards and the neighboring abbey.
This is the "coretto" or "tribunetta" mentioned in Mike's translation:mikeh wrote: Here is my attempt at a translation of the two sections of relevance to this thread of the web-page Marco linked to (http://www.portaletorrechiara.net/sito/ ... _nuovo.pdf). I have underlined the relevant sentence, which is the second from the end.Guided tour
From the quadrangular courtyard of honor, decorated with loggias and porches [porticati] with brick and sandstone capitals, to the chapel of court or chapel of St. Nicomedes. Here was once an altarpiece depicting the Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints Anthony Abbot, Nicomedes, Catherine and Peter Martyr, dated 1462, signed by Benedetto Bembo and a wooden tribune [tribunetta lignea] attributed to to the workshop of Da Baiso, decorated with polychrome floral inlays and carvings, depicting the Rossi coat of arms (lion rampant) and the hearts of Pier Maria Rossi and Bianca Pellegrini, his mistress. These furnishings are now in the Museum of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.
