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The
“great corridor on the castle square” was built between 1584 and 1586 and has
an interesting stonework. exterior.
Despite
its name, the gallery does not connect anything; it was not designed to connect
the ducal areas of the Garden palace with another area at the far side, as it
would if it followed an eastern European style. It was built, however, to hold
the duke’s archaeological collection, a collection of antique marble pieces
acquired after he returned from the royal court of Spain in 1578.
Busts,
statues, epigraphs and bas-reliefs were purchased mainly in Rome and Venice from dealers and
collectors. The collection also included hunting trophies from the imperial
collections in Prague. In 1589, following a stay at the court of the emperor Rudolph, Vespasiano
returned to Sabbioneta with 20 pairs of antlers that he had received as a gift
from emperor Rudolph II and he had them mounted in the gallery between the
antique statues and epigraphs, as proof of the strong ties which united the
duchy of Sabbioneta and the Hapsburg empire.
The
collection of antique marbles and trophies remained in the building until 1773,
when, by an Austrian decree, they were moved to the “palazzo dell’Accademia” in
Mantua. In 1774 Austrian government officials confiscated all the movable
objects, especially the antique marbles, from the ducal palaces in Sabbioneta.
In 1915 the Academy conceded ownership to the town of Mantua, which placed
the objects in the Ducal Palace. Today the recently restored marbles can be seen on display in the
exhibition area inside the Ducal Palace in Mantua.
The
frescoes on the walls were painted in 1587 by Giovanni and Alessandro Alberti
from Arezzo, who also painted the scenes on the short walls and the allegorical
figures on the long walls. The compositions of objects and arms, festoons,
vases and coats of arms have been attributed however to their assistants. The
panels in the wooden ceiling, at one time painted blue, contain little gold
rosettes. The flooring was originally paving stones with square terracotta
bricks, similar to the current flooring.
Only
very special guests were allowed to stroll past the duke’s works of art, a
proud symbol of his greatness.
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