The writing on the wall: visiting the Sala degli Imperatori in Foligno with Francesco Da Fiano as literary guide
- Editor(s):
- Melion, W.S.; Pieper, C.; Smith, P.J.; Traninger, A.
Abstract
Around 1411–1412 Ugolino III of Trinci, the signore of Foligno, commissioned Gentile
da Fabriano to decorate the so-called “Sala degli Imperatori” with 20 larger than life
images of Roman heroes. Each hero was accompanied by a Latin epigram, composed
by the humanist poet Francesco da Fiano. Da Fiano was probably also the mastermind behind the iconographical programme as a whole, which served to legitimise the Trinci’s rule by forging ancient roots. This article asks how the room was supposed to be ‘read’ by its contemporary audience. How were visitors expected to walk around, take in the decorations, and reflect on their meaning? And by whom were they guided? To answer this question, I consider Da Fiano’s appropriation of the Parade of Heroes in Virgil’s Aeneid 6 which offered the main roadmap for visiting the room. Its relevance extends from the selection and order of the heroes to their relationship with Ugolino III Trinci and contemporary Foligno, as also to the conception of the space, the interaction between the characters and visitors, and between the different arts exemplified in the room, painting and poetry above all.
