Chamber of the Eagles
The room owes its name to the large eagles with outspread wings that occupy the four corners of the room. Also known as the chamber of Phaeton, due to the subject frescoed in the centre of the vault, it was Federico Gonzaga’s private apartment.The room is characterized by its wealth of decoration confined to such a small space, as well as the range of different materials used: frescoes, stuccoes (many of which were originally covered with gold leaf) and marble.The scheme in the vault is a complex one. The central octagon contains the Fall of Phaeton. The son of Apollo, he dared to drive the sun chariot without the necessary skill, causing such damage to the earth that Jupiter was forced to stop it with a thunderbolt. Giulio Romano represents the moment in which Jupiter appears on the scene and Phaeton’s fall, seen from below and with powerful backlighting.Around the central octagon the vault is divided into eight lunettes by stucco vine shoots inhabited by playful putti (executed by Primaticcio): four gilt shells in the corners provide a backdrop for black heraldic eagles, depicted naturalistically from classical models; the other four lunettes are divided by stucco reliefs into six frescoed panels showing mythological scenes, according to a similar scheme at Palazzo Madama.