The “Berceau” Room
The “Berceau” Room takes its name from the decorative motif on the vault that simulates a pergola.
At the centre there used to be a panel, painted by Domenico Del Frate, of putti fluttering around the Torlonia coat of arms. The walls were once decorated with views by Giovan Battista Caretti, but they have all been lost.
Low reliefs by Antonio Canova
The three stucco reliefs by Antonio Canova (originally there were ten) were inserted in the walls of the Salle à manger in the Palace of Villa Torlonia.
They were still in place in 1829 when the Villa was inherited from Giovanni by Alessandro Torlonia, but were lost during the redecoration of the room and its transformation into a “Ballroom”. This took place during the renovation of the building by Giovan Battista Caretti, works that began in 1832.
Fortunately, three of the ten reliefs were found in 1997 in the rooms under the Theatre. They have been identified as copies (with some variations) of the series known through other examples that are today in the Museo Correr in Venice and the collections of the insurance company Assicurazioni Generali.
The reliefs are of Socrates drinking hemlock (from Plato’s Phaedo), the Death of Priam (from Virgil’s Aeneid) and the Dance of the Phaeacians (from Homer’s Odyssey).
Antonio Canova (Possagno 1757 - Venice 1822)
