Hall of the Monarchy

The “Hall of the Monarchy” owes its name to the fresco located in the central medallion of the ceiling. This is attributed to the painter Giuseppe Doneda, known as il Montalto (c. 1609-1680), and depicts an allegory of the Spanish Monarchy, highlighted by a rich stucco frame with cherub heads, attributable to the Como-born sculptor Giovanni Battista Barberini.

The painting depicts a woman, Spain, seated alone on a block of stone, due to the defeats suffered. Approaching to assist her are Love, represented by two kissing putti, and Fidelity, personified by the putto with a greyhound. These figures, placed at the lower end of the painting, are surmounted by the goddess Venus, who appears seated on a throne of clouds. Her nudity, draped in a white cloak, identifies her as *Aphrodite Urania*, the Greek deity born from the sea foam fertilized by Uranus, a symbol of ideal love. Critics have also suggested a second identification for this female figure: Astraea, the stellar virgin of Greek mythology. Having descended among mortals during the Golden Age to spread feelings of justice and goodness, she became disgusted by human degeneration at the start of the Iron Age, ascended back to the heavens, and remained there as the constellation Virgo.

The Arese family’s strong desire to imbue the pictorial cycles with a powerful political and figurative character suggests the fresco should be seen as a declaration of loyalty to the Spanish crown, which needed the friendship and fidelity of the Lombard noble families and the Milanese senate to return to its former great splendor. For this reason, the woman depicting Spain in the fresco is likely a portrait of Mariana of Austria, wife of King Philip IV of Spain (Habsburg) and mother of Charles II. According to some scholars, Charles II might be the young boy in the green robe accompanying her. It is to him, therefore, that the task falls to revive the Spanish crown and ideally restore good government, peace, and justice to Europe, represented by the goddess seated among the clouds.

According to other scholars, however, it is more likely that the child represents Giulio II Arese, whose wings from the family coat of arms are held firmly by the armed angels arriving alongside the goddess. The fresco would thus seem to suggest a warning to the nobles who frequented the palace: the Arese family reminds them of its own strength, represented by the weapons held by the angels, placed at the service of the Spanish kingdom, which is destined to regain its lost grandeur thanks to the support of the Milanese nobility.

The vault surrounding the painting is adorned with 18th-century decoration, now unfortunately badly damaged, featuring scrollwork frames, figures of putti, and vases of flowers, probably commissioned by Renato III Arese Borromeo after his father Giovanni Benedetto’s death in 1744. Previously, the lunettes contained a series of octagonal portraits depicting various European princesses, now housed in the Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Madre and reproduced as copies by the “Vivere il Palazzo e il Giardino Arese Borromeo” association.