The room was intended, like all those on the ground floor, to accommodate those who came to visit the marquis. The decoration presents the same scheme that characterises all the living quarters: at the centre of the pavilion vault is the sun, linked to the figure of Ludovico Gonzaga, Francesco’s father. The emblem, used by Ludovico after the battle of Caravaggio in 1448, depicts the shining sun with a scroll bearing the motto ‘PAR UN DESIR’ intertwined with the rays. The symbolic image is linked to the religious repertoire in which the sun is a symbol of God, light and truth: Gonzaga probably wanted to allude to divine protection over his own person. In the lunettes, unprecedented depictions of triumphs with wind and stringed musical instruments were discovered, undoubtedly linked to Isabella Gonzaga’s passion for music, and to the building’s use as a place of recreation and rest.
