Concert Room
A large room that used to link the Duchess’s apartment with that of the Duke, as well as to the rooms of Princess Maria Beatrice.
The recent restorations have the wooden cornices that once contained mirrors and paintings, decorated with cascades of flowers and female faces, belong to the period Juvarra was working here.
In January 27913, Carlo Randoni executed the “Design of the decoration for the Celebrations Room on the upper floor, conforming to the style of the rich sculptures of the Trumeaux, and of the stucchi which D. Filippo Juvarra had already had cause to have made in said Room”, adding the trophies of arms above the doors. These wooden parts were painted to match the ceiling in tones of “grey”, “black”, “canary yellow” and “green”.
The architect was also responsible for the design of the ceiling, seriously damaged because of infiltrations of water, and painted by the Torricelli brothers. On the four sides, four ovals appear in which are painted the busts of the first Savoy counts, Beroldo the Saxon, Umberto I, Oddone of Savoia-Moriana and Amadeus 1. Today, only Beroldo and Oddone are visible, revealing the artists’ great ability in the art of trompe-l’oeil.
Did you know?
Beroldo
Like other monarchs of the time, Amadeus VIII (1398-1434), first duke of the dynasty, had Jean d’Orreville called Cabaret undertake some studies to write a history of the Savoy household. He drew a line back to Beroldo, a legendary figure attributed a Saxon origin, and described as a brave soldier and member of the family of Emperor Otto III. His deeds are told in an improbable story, but this was accepted and stressed by the Savoys who exploited it for their political propaganda and candidacy to the empire.
Beroldo was the protagonist of an important deed of loyalty to his lord, as told by Cabaret. Our hero was told to go to the palace to fetch a ring, forgotten by Otto under his pillow. Having slipped into the bedroom at night and putting his hand under the pillow, he felt a rough beard, but the empress, who was abed, told him it was merely a particularly spiky armpit. Beroldo was not taken in by this, and so killed her and her lover, departed for Otto and told him what he had done. The emperor could not immediately recompense him for his loyalty, and sent him into exile. After various other bold deeds, Beroldo was rewarded by becoming lord of the passes on the road into France.