Salone d’onore

The first floor was for receiving guests. The salone d’onore, completely covered in frescoes from the sixteen-hundreds is 10.3 metres high and fills the onlooker with ecstasy and amazement. It truly exalts the glory of the House of Savoy. On the ceiling a golden chariot triumphantly carries the winged Victory, surrounded by festive cherubim. On the sides little angels interweave palm leaves to create the name Vittorio Amadeo, the hero of the frescoed battles. They depict the War of Succession of Monferrato, which occurred between 1617 and 1637. The figure of the Duke of Savoy dominates every battle scene, always accompanied by Taffini, who leads the armies alongside him. The horses catch the eye of the observer, with their imposing dimensions and musculature, frescoed in minute detail, each with its own markings and with an almost human look of complicity. On the sides of the walls are geometric patterns, weapons, armour and shields, captured enemies exhibited like trophies and the Savoy knot which is the emblem of the House. The overall effect of the scene is unusual: the battles are depicted on fake tapestries which curve near the doors and windows, as if drawn back to allow people to pass. A copy of the balustrade of the building is painted all around the walls, giving the strange sensation of being on an open-air terrace. For many years the cycle of frescoes was erroneously attributed to the Saviglianese artist Giovani Antonio Molineri, a hypothesis that did not hold up as the dates are incongruent. Among the names suggested for the authors of this work are Giovenale Boetto and the Flemish Jean Claret, although the true identity of the artist is far from certain.