Mantua, Ducal Palace, Gallery of the Months:
the Fifth Northern Span

The fifth bay, at the center of which is a blocked door, faithfully repeats the model proposed by Giulio Romano for the central bay (the second one) of the original loggia. The upper lunette houses a circular niche in gilded stucco with a background decorated with a trefoil leaf motif, intended to house a bust; two winged figures with attributes are painted on the sides (the first holds a spear, the second holds a sword in his right hand); in the segments between the arch and the pilasters are two winged genies in white stucco holding medallions with the zodiac signs of Gemini (the first) and Cancer (the second). The door, framed by a band painted with vegetal swirls on a white background, is flanked by two bands containing thin festoons, also painted on a white background. Above the door, a rectangular space, now empty, testifies to the original placement of a stone relief (probably the front of a sarcophagus with the "Legend of Medea," still preserved in the adjacent Troy Room). Above the doorway, two painted panels, side by side, feature pairs of tritons with shells on a red background. Regarding this door, the restorer Cottafavi (1933) reports: “Another door, or window, which we had partially left open during the restoration, also had light from the courtyard which is now the apse of the Basilica of Santa Barbara, and was strongly splayed, proving that the western part of the hall dates back to a construction period prior to the incorporation.