The Room of Saint Agnes

Of unknown authorship, the fresco in the vault’s panel depicts Saint Agnes, patron saint of the Pamphilj family. Given that the dedication of the room is mentioned in the palace’s earliest inventories, the painting can be considered as being contemporary with the rest of the cycle.

The young martyr is depicted kneeling, her gaze directed upward towards the beam of light. In accordance with tradition, the Saint is accompanied by her characteristic attributes: the palm of martyrdom, the lamb at her feet and her long hair. The restoration has returned a greater definition to the background of clouds surrounding the figure, emphasising the warm tones of the light that enhance the divine presence. The posture of the legs and the draping of the dress below the waist denote some uncertainty in the execution, perhaps due to the artist’s having second thoughts while painting.

The Room of God the Father

From certain accounting records kept in the Doria Pamphilj Archive in Rome, we know that in 1856 a painter who was a friar of the Sant’Angelo Convent in Valmontone was paid for having executed a representation of a ‘Holy Spirit’ in the tondo of the small chapel. This is undoubtedly a painting of God the Father, in which the dove of the Holy Spirit appears in the bottom left-hand corner. The middle of the 19th century witnessed a climate of renewal which affected this wing of the piano nobile in particular. In fact, some of the rooms, including the small chapel, were adapted to be used as service areas for the school which had in the meantime been set up in the Prince’s Hall. On this occasion, the walls were decorated with the colours and geometric motifs that we still see today and the doors that opened onto the large central hall were bricked up.